Tangerine!
by Starlit Anabelle
Summary: Four girls wander into the Inuyasha dimension, in search of Tangerines. Will they get home? Will they find anymore tangerines? Things get insane, like...well...just read it and see! ^^
1. That's a long tail

Author's Note-HI! Just to let you know, my friends and I are writing this. Random fact of the day. Okie, now we might as well get going with that stupid disclaimer. *sigh* We do not own Inuyasha. We don't own Vitamin C. We don't own Shrek. We don't own Emperor's New Groove. Or E.T. We really don't own most of the movies or series or whatever mentioned in here. But we do own the tangerines. ^ ^  
  
  
  
When the universe was formed, it was chaos. Especially the planet earth. Demons terrorized the people. Aliens destroyed planets. Cats chased dogs. Finally, the council of the gods and goddesses decided they needed to put an end to it. Acting desperately, they quickly (and sloppily I might add) separated the things into separate dimensions. But because they were in such a rush, they didn't notice the few kinks. Such as every ten thousand years the universes would collide.and melded the universes into one.and only on one night.  
  
  
  
"Coke!" Kisike squeaked. Amanda rolled her eyes and let her head drop back to the pillow on her sleeping bag. Raylin was snoring, leaning against Christopher.I mean!.a wall.  
  
Kisike was a girl with long blond hair and green eyes. She was fifteen years old and was probably the most insane girl you'll ever come across in the entire universe.  
  
Bridget was a girl with long red hair, hazel eyes, and glasses. She was fifteen years old and the writer of the group, rarely being seen without paper and pencil.  
  
Amanda was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. She was sixteen years old and killed anyone who offended Gohan from DBZ.  
  
Raylin was a girl with shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. She was fifteen years old and she was just there. (A/N: *gets hit in the head by Raylin* Okie, okie, just kiddin'!) She was one of the smartest of the group and constantly started random arguments with Amanda.  
  
And these teens were having a sleepover at Bridget's house. Kisike and Bridget were the only ones awake, and they were all in the computer room, Kisike and Bridget typing up a fanfic. It really is the end of the world as we know it.  
  
Bridget sighed and stood up from her place in an old whicker chair. "Okay, okay.coke." She said, starting out the door with Kisike skipping out behind her. They got two Dr. Peppers out of a cardboard box and put them in the freezer. They went back upstairs to see Amanda and Raylin were already asleep  
  
Five minutes later. "Tangerine!" Kisike squeaked. She and Bridget went down stairs to get a tangerine. They went back upstairs..  
  
Five minutes later. "Bathroom!"  
  
Kisike went to the bathroom.  
  
Five minutes later. " Cokes cold!" They went downstairs, to get their now cold cokes. Then went back upstairs, to see a small puddle of drool next to Raylin's head.  
  
Five minutes later. "Tangerine!" Kisike grinned.  
  
".Whyyyyy are you eating all of my tangerines??" Bridget asked as they started down the stairs.  
  
"Vitamin C!" Kisike said.  
  
"..Isn't that a band.?"  
  
"A singer.she played in a realleh weird movie."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
Bridget stopped about halfway down the stairs.  
  
"What'd yah stop for??" Kisike asked, poking at the leaf of a plant over the edge of the stairs. Weird music started playing out of nowhere. (Fluffy background theme...^ ^; )  
  
".The moon.is um...a lot.brighter.than.the other...three times we came down here...and.there's something in front of it..."  
  
"..You mean...like the whole alien in the front basket of a bike thing?"  
  
"..Um.no.It's not a little.it's...little at all...and it's not computer generized and it don't have a glowing forefinger."  
  
"..Well that narrows down the possibilities."  
  
"Look!" Bridget grabbed a handful of Kisike's hair and yanked her so she could see out the big window above the front door at the base of the stairs. Kisike blinked.  
  
"See?" Bridget asked. Kisike blinked again.  
  
  
  
".It's.wearing a..boa."  
  
"A boa." Bridget said skeptically.  
  
"..A boa!" Kisike confirmed nodding.  
  
"It's wearing a boa.."  
  
"Sir! We found it!" Kisike grinned.  
  
"..What?!" Bridget asked.  
  
"Shrek.." Kisike said simply.  
  
".That's it.no more tangerines for you." Bridget sighed.  
  
"..Dude, um.you need, like.curtains...the dude is...like.staring at the house like.all.weird like.like.yeah!" Kisike said, pointing.  
  
".Wait.how is he.Why is he..floating in front of the moon." Bridget's eye started twitching. "..Wait.I don't care! I wanna know if he's been spying on my house! That's the last time I leave my bedroom blinds open!" She exclaimed.  
  
" My blinds don't like.open that way...they only go up and down...they're those cheap bamboo stick ones.my cat chewed on em." Kisike said.standing after Bridget let her go. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"..Why do I care about your cat.chewing on the bamboo blinds you have in your room...when there's some freak hanging over the moon looking at my house?!"  
  
"..Hey...dah moon ish cool!" Kisike said, grinning.again.  
  
"..You know, you sound so much like a prep." Bridget replied.  
  
Kisike giggled an airheaded giggle. "Thank you!"  
  
Bridget sighed. "Okay, look. Follow me. I'm calling the cops and seeing what we can do about this.this.weirdo.stalker.guy.the phone's in the kitchen," she said.  
  
"Good! We can get more tangerines!"  
  
"No more tangerines."  
  
"Oh, c'mon! We're probably gonna die anyways. You could at least let me have one last tangerine!"  
  
"No! Get your own tangerines!"  
  
"I can't! I'm not twenty-one!"  
  
"What does being twenty-one have anything to do with tangerines?"  
  
"I don't know, but I imagine it has something do with driving."  
  
"They're not alcoholic are they.?"  
  
Kisike giggled maliciously.  
  
"Are they.are they.?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Um.no."  
  
Bridget stared at her for a second. ".Of course not. STOP CONFUSING ME! .Now is not the time to say confusing stuff. Because it's going to do just that."  
  
"What? What time is it?"  
  
Bridget glanced over at the VCR clock. "12:56 A. M. we've been standing here chatting for probably ten minutes at the least. Let's go." She said.  
  
"And the dude. Is still there. Freeeaky. Let's go say hi!" Kisike said.  
  
".No. We are calling the cops." Bridget said as they started down the stairs again. The first floor of the house was nearly pitch-black, but now it was getting darker.and darker.  
  
"Okay, I don't know if it's just me, the influence of the tangerines, or reality, but these stairs really seem longer.and longer.and longer.and longer."  
  
"." Bridget hit Kisike over the head.  
  
Kisike began humming the theme to the Twilight Zone. The stairs finally came to an end. And the door did NOT look like the normal, everyday, humany door they saw everyday as the front door.  
  
The door white and gold, with intricate designs on it and the doorframe. They were double doors, and light lined the cracks.  
  
"You know what? I don't think I'm going to be very surprised if it leads to the school cafeteria." Kisike said.  
  
Bridget stared at her, then looked away and pushed the door open. The door opened easily and they stepped though. ".I'm thinking we go back UP the stairs." Kisike said.  
  
"Um.so am I." Bridget said. The door suddenly slammed shut and disappeared.  
  
".Oops. Well this is not good." Kisike said.  
  
"Kisike, your ears!" Bridget shrieked, pointing at Kisike's ears.  
  
"What about my ears?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Do this." Bridget said, putting her hands over her ears.  
  
"What is this, some sort of game you peasant folk play or something.?" Kisike said as she put her hands over the spot where her ears.um.used to be. Then she moved her hands up, to where her new cat ears were. "AHHH! MY EARS! MY BEAUTIFUL EARS! IT CAN'T BEEE!" Kisike screamed.  
  
"Okay, okay, calm down, there has GOT to be some sort of.um.explanation or something for this." Bridget said, trying to calm down Kisike but to no avail.  
  
"KITTY FAAAACE!" Kisike said. She grinned suddenly. "Cool. Heehee."  
  
Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"Your ears have changed too! But they're still in the same place, only really pointy and long.um.stuff!" Kisike said.  
  
Bridget blinked and felt her ears, which were pointy and went out at least half a foot on each side of her head (think Aisha's ears from Outlaw Star). "Elf ears.what.the.hell.okay, I think I'm going to freak out now." she said slowly.  
  
"Don't freak out! Oh, and your eyes are changing color.blue.now gray.now-"  
  
"STOP PLAYING GUESS THE COLOR AND HELP ME OUT HERE!" Bridget shrieked.  
  
"Okay, okay.Hey! Hey, I can smell.a lot better.I smell.Um.I don't know what I smell, but I smell something."  
  
".That's not helping!"  
  
"Actually it does, cause you don't really smell human anymore."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Okay, you need to stop talking in all caps and stuff because you're about to.I don't know what you're about to do, but you're about to do something. Like explode. Your eyes are beginning to turn red."  
  
"."  
  
"Who are you?" the moon man asked, now at the edge of a forest. "And how did you appear out of thin air?"  
  
Bridget and Kisike stared at him. ".Whatdyah mean 'Who are you?'?? YOU'RE the one who was staring through the window over my front door! It's like you were waiting for us or sumthin'."  
  
"STALKER!" Kisike yelled. Then she spotted the furry thing over his shoulder. ".Uhm.why are you wearing a boa." She asked.  
  
  
  
The man blinked. ".That's my tail."  
  
"..You have a long tail."  
  
".Thank you?"  
  
Bridget sweatdropped. "..Why were you looking in my house?"  
  
"It does get rather boring watching two humans running up and down stairs every few minutes.." He said. Bridget stared at him.  
  
"..Okay.that didn't answer my question.but Kisike was going to the bathroom that one time.." Bridget said, poking her new ears.  
  
".IT strikes me as odd the way you tell a complete stranger that I went to the bathroom. Especially when the information was needed.as far as I can tell.anywhere in the conversation.but oh well." Kisike sighed, then stuck her tongue out at the tall man. "We're not human, incase you didn't notice." She said, pulling at her left ear.  
  
The man's eyebrow twitched. ".You were humans."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
".Yes."  
  
"..Positive?"  
  
"..Yes.."  
  
"Stake your life on it?"  
  
"Will you shut up??"  
  
"She never shuts up." Bridget sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. Kisike suddenly pointed at the man.  
  
"Whooooooo are yoooooooou?!" She demanded, glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow again.  
  
"I am called.Sesshoumaru." He said, a sudden wind blowing past from nowhere, making Sesshoumaru's silver hair and white and red kimono billow around him dramatically. Bridget sweatdropped. Kisike blinked and looked around.  
  
".Sooooo." Bridget blinked, trying to ignore the phantom wind. "Mind telling me WHY my house was so interesting to you?"  
  
"..I don't know. I was just there." He said, half turning away. Kisike raised an eyebrow.  
  
".You were just.. suddenly.. in front of the moon staring at her house? THAT'S WEIRD!"  
  
".I probably know just as much about this.situation as you do." Sesshoumaru replied coolly. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"That was vague." She grumbled. She looked at Kisike. "What.do.we.do." She started.then stopped and sweatdropped when she saw Kisike with a whole tangerine sticking out of her mouth. Kisike blinked at her.  
  
"Wuhn?" She mumbled around the food. Bridget glared at her.  
  
".You're making us look bad!" She near yelled. Kisike took the tangerine out of her mouth and blinked at Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Bad in front of who? Mister Imma stalker but I have no idea who I'm stalking and I wear a big pinkish boa thing?" She asked, blinking at Bridget now. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"..Hope he can't hear you." She muttered, looking back at Sesshoumaru.  
  
" S'not like I care. He's a dog." Kisike said, biting into a piece of tangerine.  
  
"..That's not nice." Bridget said.  
  
" No, literally." Kisike grinned, " He smells like a doggie!"  
  
".Okie dokie."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"..Okay."  
  
"."  
  
"What now?"  
  
" I dunno."  
  
".Okay.we have some reason for being here, right?"  
  
".I dunno."  
  
".Did you bring any more food?"  
  
".I dunno."  
  
".Where are we?"  
  
".I dunno."  
  
".Will you stop that?"  
  
"I dunno!"  
  
"Hey! You.Sessho.guy! Where are we?" Bridget asked. Sesshoumaru looked over at them.  
  
" The Warring States Era, Japan."  
  
"Oh." Bridget blinked. Kisike blinked too, with another mouth full of tangerine. Bridget sighed.  
  
  
  
".Have any coke here?" Kisike asked no one in particular.  
  
"..Coke?" Sesshoumaru blinked.  
  
"..Coke." Kisike confirmed.  
  
"..What's that." Sesshoumaru asked.  
  
".You have red eye shadow on. Oh...um. what.no. you.no.know. what .coke.is." Kisike trailed off, lip twitching. Bridget patted her shoulder.  
  
"..This is the FUEDAL Era.meaning there's no coke. Probably no caffeine, either." Kisike stared at her, then glared off past her.  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHAK!" She yelled, stomping past Sesshoumaru and into the forest. Bridget blinked and sweatdropped.  
  
"Where're you goin'??" She asked.  
  
"..I dunno.but frankly.I don't give a damn." She grinned, then disappeared into the forest. Bridget sweatdropped, sighed, and ran after her.  
  
Sesshoumaru stood in his spot, phantom winds starting up again.yeah.  
  
  
  
Author's note-So what did you think? Review! But beware if you dare to flame. Most of this chapter was written by Kisike, and knowing her, she'll probably go all Johnny the Homicidal Maniac on you and hunt you down then kill you. Well, all and all, just review, cause the more you do, the sooner we'll post chapters. Well, see ya soon! Ja ne! ^ ^ 


	2. Cut and chop and slice them up

Author's note- Wow. Two reviews already. Thank you, Never Again and lugia321! ^ ^ Well, we said we would write more if you reviewed, and we did. But before going onto the second chapter, onto the disclaimer. We don't own Inuyasha, or most of the series or movies in here, sadly. Oh well. And as for you're random fact of the day, Kisike, Amanda, and I wrote this chapter. So, finally, on with the fic!  
  
  
  
Kisike awoke to a small finger poking at her nose.  
  
" Is it alive?" A rather annoying voice asked.  
  
" Yes, I'm ali-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEE!" Kisike squealed, falling from the tall tree branch and landed not-so-gracefully on her face. Bridget woke up to a face slamming into the ground beside her.  
  
"..Coffee?" She sighed, sitting up and stretching.  
  
" Is that one a half demon like you, Inuyasha?" Another too-loud and annoying voice asked.  
  
"Will you shut up. . ." Kisike hissed, standing up and rubbing at her nose. Her ears were nearly flat back against her head.  
  
"Who are you telling to shut up??" Kisike's nose twitched and picked up the scent of an inu-youkai of some sort.  
  
"Sesshoumaru. . .just. . .go. . .away." She sighed. Bridget was standing up as well, looking around. Kisike was lifted off the ground by a hand fisting in the collar of her shirt.  
  
"What about Sesshoumaru??" The name was spit out as if it had a bitter taste to it. Kisike finally opened her eyes, and screamed.  
  
Inuyasha leapt back, dropping the Neko-jin.  
  
"What?!" He yelled. The blonde girl looked up at him then shook her head.  
  
" Nothing. . .It's just. . .you're not exactly the first thing I'd wanna see when I wake up in the morning.." She grinned. Inuyasha fumed.  
  
"WHAT?!" He shouted. The girl - -'d.  
  
"..And. . .no offense. . .but your breath smells like old gravy.I mean /really/ old gravy." She said, straightening. The red head that was sleeping under the tree sweatdropped.  
  
"Kisike. . .how you make so many enemies so fast, is beyond most comprehension. Beyond mine at least." She sighed. 'Kisike' shrugged.  
  
"Ah well. I shoulda' brought my toothbrush since everyone's breath smells like /that/. Well. . .not that I need it. . ." She reached up and pulled at Inuyasha's cheeks so she could see his straight white teeth. ". . .Yup.don't need any dentist here. . ." She stretched his mouth out somemore. " Look it this! No stains, no nothing! This is freaky!"  
  
"Stop that!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping away.  
  
"What's a dentist?" Shippou asked.  
  
"We don't want to harm you. We only want to chop you up." Kisike replied.  
  
"o.O WHAT?!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"-.-; No more seeing the Cooler movie anymore either. . .at least not the second one. . ." Jessica said.  
  
"Cut and chop and slice them up! Cut and chop and slice them up!" Kisike sang continuously.  
  
"Inuyasha, she's scaring me. . ." Shippou said.  
  
". . .She's nothing but a baka chibi onna, that's what she is." Inuyasha said.  
  
Kisike's ear twitched. "CUT AND CHOP AND SLICE THEM UP!" Kisike yelled in his ear.  
  
"OW! DAMMIT, NO SCREAMING IN MY EAR! THAT HURT!"  
  
"THAT WAS THE ENTIRE POINT!"  
  
". . ."  
  
"Quick, aintcha?" Kisike said.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Could you please stop dotting?"  
  
". . ."  
  
"Inuyasha, these people are weird." Shippou said. "No offense to you guys of course."  
  
Bridget blinked and tilted her head. "That's okay. We know we're weird. Why do you think everyone would back away quickly when we got to our classes at school?"  
  
"Uh.I don't know. Because you're weird?"  
  
"EXACTLY!"  
  
Shippou ran behind Inuyasha. "Okay. Let's leave them right now. Please?"  
  
Inuyasha was too busy staring at Kisike. Kisike raised an eyebrow. "What?" she demanded. Inuyasha didn't reply. "Why don't you go stare up at a treeeee," Kisike said.  
  
"You're a demon, aren't you?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"Okay, I know we were kinda bad and weird back in. . .um. . .our world. . .but I don't think we were enough to be called demons." Bridget said.  
  
"We got a sharp one over here, ladies and gentleman." Kisike said, jerking a thumb towards Inuyasha.  
  
"That is not funny."  
  
"YES IT IS! HAH!"  
  
". . .You are really starting to get on my nerves. . ."  
  
"CUT AND CHOP AND SLICE THEM UP!"  
  
Shippou looked about ready to bolt away. At that moment they heard someone walking through the forest. "Who's there?" A voice asked. "Inuyasha, who have you found?" a teen who was carrying a staff and dressed in robes asked.  
  
"Just two baka demons."  
  
"Actually, I was one of the smartest in my class back in our world." Bridget said quietly.  
  
"Stupid class then. Reeeally stupid class." Inuyasha commented.  
  
"Science, yes, language, no."  
  
". . .What?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
Kisike jumped up into a tree and hung upside down. "You got any tangeriiiines?!" she whined.  
  
"Tanger. . .what?" Inuyasha asked, confused.  
  
"Kisike, we're in Japan. I think tangerines are a tropical food." Bridget said.  
  
"Awww. . ."  
  
"What are your names, brats?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"I am Shinigami! Fear me mortals!" Kisike yelled, laughing evilly (which really looked weird as she hung upside down.)  
  
"I'm Bridget."  
  
"They're coming to take me away, haha! They're coming take me away, haha, heehee, hoho! To the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time! And I can't wait to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away!" Kisike sang.  
  
Inuyasha blinked and stared. ". . .What?"  
  
"You heard me! Stop them! They're trying take away!"  
  
The teen just stood there, staring.  
  
"GOT A PROBLEM, MISTER?! GO STARE AT A TREE! GO STARE AT. . .um. . .CHRISTOPHER! THE WAAAALL!"  
  
The man jumped back. "Very. . .very odd people. . ."  
  
"For some reason, I'm envying Raylin and Amanda." Bridget said.  
  
"Um, yeah. Well, not really, cause it's fun messing with these guys' minds! But I do miss the tangerines."  
  
  
  
*back in the. . .um. . .other world. . .*  
  
  
  
Amanda woke up to hear 'They're Going to Take Me Away' playing on the computer. Raylin woke up also.  
  
"Oh no. . .they've been listening that over. . .and over. . .and over. . ." Raylin seemed to go into a trance just by saying 'over'.  
  
At that moment Bridget's mom decided to come in and check on them.  
  
"You guys asleep yet?" she demanded.  
  
"We. . .um. . .It's only 1: 45 A.M! Not 2: 30! We can still be up for. . .Um. . .okay, I don't really want to do the math at this time of night, so I'm just going to say for a while." Amanda said, hitting Raylin over the head.  
  
Raylin shook her head, snapping out of her trance. "Where am I?" she asked. She remembered what was going on and decided to mimic the second Harry Potter movie. "Hello."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Um. . .Amanda Morgan. . ." Amanda said, who wasn't really catching on.  
  
"Who am I?"  
  
"Raylin. . ."  
  
"This is a funny little place. . ." Raylin said, staring at a tangerine peel in her hand. "Do you live here?"  
  
"NO!" Amanda yelled, tossing tangerine peels at Raylin.  
  
"Ack!"  
  
"Where's Kisike and Bridget?" Bridget's mom demanded.  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"Never mind. I'll go look for them."  
  
"NO! I mean. . .um. . .they're probably like, really hyper, so. . .um. . .we'll go find them."  
  
". . .Okay. You'd better be up here next time I come in here."  
  
"We will!" Amanda said quickly.  
  
Bridget's mom left the room. Amanda and Raylin stared at each other. Something was wrong. If they couldn't hear the two downstairs, there was definitely something wrong. . .  
  
They left the room and began going down the stairs.  
  
"The moon is unusually bigger and brighter than it should be. You know that, right?" Raylin said, staring up at the moon.  
  
"Uh huh. . ." Amanda said.  
  
They slowly descended down in the darkness, Raylin yawned. Amanda accidentally tripped on Elena's (Bridget's younger sister) teddy bear, which was just lying there on the steps, causing her to collide with Raylin and they when barreling down the remaining stairs and into the unknown. They barreled in to a large tree, Amanda lay there with her eyes replaced with swirls and she slightly twitched. . .Raylin lay a few feet away with swirly in her eyes as well.  
  
  
  
Author's note- *answering machine comes on* Hey, guess what! We hear that with all the Shikon shards, we may be able to own it Inuyasha! So we're in the Feudal Era, right now, looking for the shards. So when you're done reading this, please leave a review at the sound of random people screaming their heads off. *random people scream their heads off* Well, review now! See ya soon! Ja ne! 


	3. Don’t mind the few blond hairs in the pu...

Author's note-Here we are again, the terrifying trio of writers with another chapter. This time, only Amanda and I wrote this chapter. That's the random fact of the day. As for the disclaimer, our status of collecting the Shikon shards so far is. . . *drum roll* . . . one. -.- We haven't fought any demons yet, we just ripped a guy off in the last village gift shop, so I'm guessing we won't be owning Inuyasha for a while now. *sigh* On a higher note, thanks for the all the reviews! And if you've been wondering why we keep calling the wall 'Christopher', don't worry. It will be explained in the next chapter. . .or maybe we'll just leave you to rot in the eternity of ignorance. Our choice. ^ ^  
  
"Stop with the spinning. . ." Raylin moaned. She slowly sat up and sweatdropped when she saw Amanda just laying there. . . "Baka. . ."  
  
Amanda leapt up at that comment. "You dare call me a baka?!"  
  
Raylin stuck her tongue out at Amanda. "Duh. . .Do you think?"  
  
Amanda pounced or tried to on to Raylin. . .but she found herself on the ground with Raylin sitting on her.  
  
"Hey!!! I'm not a chair for your big butt!!!" Amanda shouts as something caught Raylin's eye.  
  
Raylin reached down and started playing with Amanda's ears. "You got kitty ears. . ."  
  
"My ears are not your toys. . .do WHAT?! I have what kind of ears???"  
  
"Didn't I just say that. . .you now have kitty ears. . ."  
  
"Get off!!" Amanda said heaving Raylin's butt off of her and standing up. Raylin landed with a thud in the dirt. "Have a nice trip?"  
  
"Oh shut up. . .no, I had a great fall. WONDERFUL fall. In fact, I'd like to share it with you, so I'll summarize it." Raylin said, grabbing Amanda's ankle and pulling her down.  
  
"Ack! Hey! I am going to kill yo-"  
  
"Nope! Ten second rule!"  
  
"WHAT?! That's for food!"  
  
"I don't care, I just felt like saying something totally random!" Raylin said. She felt her ears. They were pointed like demon ears, but longer. And they didn't go out to the sides like Bridget's, they stayed straight up. "Huh. Cool. I'm an elf. Maybe my archery's improved." She mused.  
  
That's when they heard the yells. Some familiar and some not. . .  
  
"What the hell is a tangerine?!" an unfamiliar voice yelled.  
  
"I want my tangeriiiines. . .wait. YOOOU don't know what a TANGERINE is?!" they heard Kisike yell.  
  
Amanda and Raylin looked at each other, then jumped up and ran into the forest. They came to a clearing with Kisike, Bridget, a funny-looking little boy, a teen with silver hair, and a teen with a staff, all arguing. Well, the teen with the staff was trying to stay out of it, but hey, if Kisike was involved, no one could blame him.  
  
"Kisike, this looks like Japan or something. These people look like they're from Japan. They do not have tangerines in Japan. Well, I don't think they do. . .that's more of a tropic food. . .I thought I told you that already. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"Um, there's a thing called. . .TRADING! And. . .um. . .what's that word. . .AIRPLANES! AND SHIPS!" Kisike said sarcastically.  
  
"Air what?" the silver-haired teen asked, confused.  
  
"Airplanes! Stupid."  
  
". . ."  
  
"Kisike?" Bridget said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I think we're in the past." Bridget said.  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"I think we're in the past."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"SHE SAYS SHE THINKS WE ARE IN THE PAST!" Raylin yelled in Kisike's ear.  
  
"Aiiie! Ack! Meheh!" Kisike yelled, falling from the tree and landing on her head.  
  
". . .I think that's the. . .twenty-eighth time. . .that I've landed on my head. . .in my lifetime. . ." Kisike said with swirly eyes.  
  
"No. I'm sure it's more times than that." Raylin said.  
  
"Anyways, if you listened to that guy we met earlier 'Sike, you'd know too." Bridget said.  
  
Raylin looked over at Inuyasha. "So what's he? A fairy. . .an elf. . .wait, elves don't have those kind of ears. . .I'd have to say fairy."  
  
Inuyasha's eye twitched. "I'm a demon you. . .little. . .brat. . ."  
  
"Demon? Hardly. I mean, you look more like a human or something." Raylin said.  
  
". . .I'm going to kill you if you keep it up."  
  
"I would like to see you try." Raylin said.  
  
"Grrr. . ."  
  
"Of course, I could also do for a little something to eat too. . ."  
  
"WE HAVE NO MORE TANGERIIIINES!" Kisike sobbed.  
  
". . .Definitely no more tangerines. Especially for you." Amanda said.  
  
"Do any of you have jewel shards?" Miroku suddenly asked.  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"Jewel shards. Shikon jewel shards." Miroku said.  
  
"Um. . .no, we don't, but I think you do. They're glowing right there." Bridget said, pointing to the bag that Inuyasha had tied to his belt.  
  
"You have the light?" Miroku asked.  
  
". . .The what? I don't even have a flashlight. What are you talking about?!"  
  
"The light."  
  
". . ."  
  
"Well, that tells us a lot, doesn't it?" Amanda said.  
  
"Uh. . .well, it should. Who are you exactly?"  
  
"I'm Amanda and that's Raylin."  
  
"Oh. Now I have one more thing to ask you."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Miroku walked up to Amanda and grabbed her hand. "Will you please bear my child?" He asked. Amanda's eyes went wide.  
  
"Um. . .can I see that really cool staff that you are holding?" Amanda asked, without a second thought the man handed the staff over. Amanda raised it over her head. "COME HERE YOU SICK PERVERT!!!!!" She screamed and started chasing him around in a circle. . .all the while everyone laughed. Amanda finally threw the staff and it hit him dead back in the head. He fell forward, he sat up and gripped his head in pain and when he removed his hands he had a big bump poking out from the side of his head.  
  
"Are you alright?" Raylin asked pulling him up to his feet. Miroku got a sly gleam in his eyes.  
  
"Raylin. . ."Amanda started to say, "He doesn't need physical help. . .he needs mental help. . .very bad. . .extremely bad. . ."  
  
Shippou walked over to where the man and Raylin were standing (A/N: Miroku is standing behind Raylin O.O) He flipped out a little thing that everyone couldn't identify, just as Miroku took a step closer to Raylin, the little thing became a big statue. It landed on Miroku's foot, his eyes bulged and he clamped his mouth shut so not to say a wordy derd.  
  
"Miroku. . ." Inuyasha hissed. Shippou sweatdropped.  
  
"He tried to do it to another girl." Shippou said like what Miroku does is not out of the ordinary.Kisike walked over to the big statue on Miroku's foot.  
  
"Hey! I want one. . ." She said, poking it slightly.  
  
"-.- I don't sell them." Shippou said.  
  
"You should! You'd make a lot of money with those!"  
  
"Okay. We are going now. These people are weird." Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Oh, yeah, look who's talking!" Inuyasha said.  
  
"Yeah. Looked in the mirror? Oh wait. . .I don't think they have mirrors here. Looked in a pond lately?" Bridget shot back.  
  
"Grrr. . .Why is it that people with the light are so annoying?!"  
  
"I have absolutely no clue. Especially since we don't know what the light is." Amanda said.  
  
"Um. . .hey, we really don't have anywhere to go. Know any, like, hotels we could stay at or something. . .?" Kisike asked.  
  
"You could come with us. If you want to." Miroku said with a smile.  
  
"Sure, why not?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Holiday Inn!" Kisike said.  
  
Amanda started repeatedly bashing her head against a tree. "This is not going to be a fun trip." She moaned. "Shouldn't we be getting home right now?"  
  
"Uh, no, this is fun!" Kisike said. "We need an adventure. . .instead of the boring, humany lives we lead!"  
  
Amanda sighed. "Am I the only SANE one here?" Everyone stared at her questionably. Amanda sweatdropped. "Ya know what? Never mind."  
  
"Uh. . .huh. . ." Kisike said. She began to skip off in a random direction.  
  
"Kisike! The path is this way!" Shippou said, pointing in the OTHER random direction.  
  
"Oh. Oops." Kisike said. She began to skip in the other direction, the others sweatdropping. They followed. Inuyasha looked over at Bridget.  
  
"Those are some of the strangest eyes I've ever seen. And what is that. . .contraption. . .thingy. . .on your face?" He said. Bridget's eyes were now purplish-blue with flecks of black in them.  
  
Bridget's eyes got a slight, red tint in them, then it disappeared, the black flecks seeming to multiply. "They weren't like this before I came here. They used to be hazel. And this 'contraption' is glasses. They help me to see. If I take them off, things far away become blurry."  
  
"Can I see?" Shippou asked.  
  
"Uh. . .only for a minute, I guess. . ." Bridget said, handing Shippou her glasses. Shippou blinked, studying the glasses for a second, then put them on. Shippou blinked for a moment, then tripped.  
  
He handed the glasses back to Bridget. "You can keep them. They make me dizzy." He said with swirly eyes. Bridget smiled and put her glasses back on. As she did so, some of the black flecks in her eyes began to disappear, and a yellow flecks with an orange tint began to take its place. The purple faded a little too.  
  
"Why are your eyes changing like that, Bridget?" Raylin asked.  
  
"I have no idea." Bridget said.  
  
"I know why. You're a fairy. Or at least part fairy. Fairy demon is more like it. Fairy eyes change the color of the emotion." Miroku said.  
  
". . .Uh. . .huh. . ." Bridget said. She blinked and shook her head. "Fairy demon. I did not know that fairies had demons."  
  
"Of course they do. Fairies are much like humans, but they're as big as twelve year olds and they're incredibly fast."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So I could bash you over the head with your stick about twenty times per second if you try anything, right?"  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"And I'm guessing they don't have wings."  
  
Miroku blinked. "Wings?"  
  
"Yeah. . .that's what fairies look like in our world. Course they're only in stories back in our world. They're tiny people with wings."  
  
"Strange. . ."  
  
"I know the emotional colors." Raylin spoke up.  
  
". . .Good for you." Kisike said.  
  
"Red is rage, love, or embarrassment-"  
  
"Red is blooood."  
  
"Orange is hilarity-"  
  
"Orange is a tangerine!"  
  
"Yellow is cheerful, fear, or surprise-"  
  
".That is one funky tangerine."  
  
"Green could be peaceful or terror-"  
  
"I ain't eating no green tangerine."  
  
"Blue means gloom-"  
  
"And doom!"  
  
"Purple means lonely or mystic-"  
  
"Mystic Gohan? He wasn't purple. That was the Supreme Kai." Kisike said. "I am the princess of all Saiya-jins once again!"  
  
"White is pure and normal-"  
  
"Ewww, normal! And no, I do not want The Touch from Yago. I am already pure! I took a quiz! It was on the internet, but oh well. Still counts!"  
  
"And black is depressing and death. Also emptiness."  
  
"Then Bridget's eyes are going to be black often, cause she's the most morbid of us all!" Kisike said.  
  
"What are you saying exactly?" Bridget said.  
  
"Oh, come on, don't act like you don't know what I mean. YOU WROTE A POEM AND TITLED IT 'DEATH' ONE TIME! I think that's enough to know you can get morbid. . .like. . .a lot. . .since a lot of your poetry is morbid and you've got half a notebook full of poems back home!"  
  
"I don't have enough for half of a notebook. Not yet, anyways."  
  
"Probably more like a third of the notebook." Raylin cut in.  
  
". . .No math class! It hurts my braiiin!" Kisike yelled, clutching the sides of her head. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
"I would imagine it would, considering your intelligence." Raylin said.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to tell you. This mondo cool stuff. . .is not mondo cool. . ." Kisike said, grinning.  
  
". . .Say what?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Oh yeah. . .you haven't heard it yet. . .it's this comedy Dragonball Z thing Bridget and I downloaded off her computer called 'Krillin's Prank Call.'" Kisike said. She proceeded to recite it. "Hey Terry! This is Krillin. Look, can you please lay off the mondo cool stuff for a while? Please? I mean, I love the writing, I do, god knows I love the writing! But this mondo cool stuff. . .is not mondo cool. . .aw, I'm just kiddin' ya, I love the mondo cool stuff. Put some more in! How about mondo terrific? Mondo exquisite? Mondo nuts. . .I'M GOIN' MONDO NUTS! Mondo Kamehameha!"  
  
By that time, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippou were staring at her while Raylin, Amanda, and Bridget were laughing their heads off. And by about that time it was around noon and they had gotten to an inn. ". . .We don't have money. I'm hoping you don't expect us to have to pay for this." Amanda said.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll handle this." Miroku said. He walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened.  
  
"Hello? Who are you?" the inn owner asked.  
  
"I am a traveling monk, and I see a dark cloud over your inn."  
  
". . .I am a traveling person from another world and I see B.S. in his monksmanship." Amanda said, making up a word.  
  
"WHAT?! A DARK CLOUD?!" the owner shrieked.  
  
"I will be happy to purify your inn if you let my friends and I stay the night here for free."  
  
"Oh my god, it's Yago! With the whole 'Be puuure!' stuff!" Kisike cried. Inuyasha and Shippou stared at her, while Amanda, Bridget, and Raylin snickered.  
  
"Oh, yes, yes, of course!" the inn owner said gratefully.  
  
". . .And the B.S. begins. . ." Amanda said.  
  
"Hey! Miroku is cool!" Raylin said.  
  
"He's a perv!"  
  
"He's cool!"  
  
"He's a pervert! What has gotten into your head Raylin?!" Amanda asked.  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into her head, but it makes you wonder. About what, I don't know, but it just does." Kisike said.  
  
Bridget sweatdropped while Raylin growled at them. Raylin then turned to Bridget. "How about you? What do you think of Miroku? I mean, you haven't said anything throughout this entire argument!" she demanded.  
  
Bridget looked surprised as her eyes turned a faint yellow, not used to being put in the spotlight. ". . .What?"  
  
"I asked, what do you think about Miroku? He's cool, isn't he?"  
  
Bridget sweatdropped and blinked. ". . .Raylin, I have to be honest with you. The others are right. He's a pervert. I say, stick with Gohan."  
  
". . .But he's stuck in DBZ."  
  
"So we think. . ." Kisike said in a foreshadowing, ominous kind of voice.  
  
"Hey, at least he's more real than Mo'Steel!"  
  
"What?!" Kisike demanded.  
  
"Come on, you know we all know you know you like Mo'Steel from Remnants."  
  
". . .Eh? Who knows what knows which knows? Could you repeat that please? I'm confuseded."  
  
"Well of course you are. You always are. But I'm saying that we know that you like Mo'Steel." Raylin said.  
  
"He's better than Gohan! Besides, he has the same beliefs as me!"  
  
". . .And what are those beliefs?"  
  
Kisike sighed. "Raylin, Raylin. After I-don't-know how long, I thought you'd know me better." She said. She held up a hand to count on her fingers. "Okay, one-we both believe that insanity is a good thing. Two-he believes that duct tape fixes everything. And three-he loves tangerines."  
  
". . .It says nothing about Mo'Steel liking tangerines in Remnants." Bridget replied.  
  
"Whose side are you on?! Besides, if K.A. mentioned tangerines, I'll bet Mo'Steel would like them!" Kisike said.  
  
"Actually, Bridget told me that K.A. was pairing Mo'Steel up with Noyze. She read book #10." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike grinned homicidally. "Good. I was looking for some fresh blood. . .I need to see Noyze. Mo'Steel may see her bloody body hanging from a tree afterwards, but hey, I'm sure he'll get over it." She said, chuckling homicidally and obviously planning to try to go the Remnants dimension. . .or at least a fanfic with Noyze's death.  
  
". . .What, you're going to just blame the Meanies or Riders or Troika or something?"  
  
"Yes. I will blame the Troika. Don't mind the few blond hairs in the puddle of blood surrounding her body."  
  
Inuyasha and Shippou stared at her, both mystified and slightly freaked out.  
  
"Who is Noyze?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"A girl."  
  
"What girl?"  
  
"A girl from Remnants."  
  
"Remnants from what?"  
  
"I don't know. You're the criminal mastermind! Not me."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You're right. I'm giving you way too much credit." Kisike said. Inuyasha hit her over the head.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Ouch!" Kisike yelled. "What was that for?!"  
  
"To maybe knock some sense back into your brain."  
  
"You realize that that's just a saying, right? I mean, you can't really knock sense into a brain. If you could, she'd be smarter. A LOT smarter and have a LOT more sense." Raylin said.  
  
"Grrr. . ." Kisike said. She pulled a piece of tangerine peel and tossed it at Raylin. "Take that! And that!" She yelled.  
  
". . ." Raylin sweatdropped as she caught the tangerine peel. ". . .Stupid."  
  
"Yes, you are."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, yes you are."  
  
"No, you!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You! Dare mimic me?! Fried Cyclops!" Kisike yelled, tossing as many tangerine peel pieces as were in her pocket.  
  
"You both are." Amanda called from the doorway of the inn. "Now come on!"  
  
". . ." Both Raylin and Kisike looked over at Amanda, Bridget, Shippou, Inuyasha, and Miroku, who had been standing in the doorway for at least three minutes.  
  
"WAIT FOR MEEE!" Kisike yelled, running over to the door and, unable to stop, ran into Inuyasha, sending them both tumbling to the ground.  
  
"Hey! Stupid brat! Get off of me!" Inuyasha yelled, shoving the now swirly- eyed Kisike off of him.  
  
"See? I told you. Stupid." Raylin said, who began walking towards the door and running into the big tree branch in front of her, knocking her to the ground and giving her swirly eyes.  
  
". . .Should we just leave them there?" Bridget asked.  
  
  
  
"Yeah. C'mon. Let's see what they have to eat here." Amanda said, sighing and walking inside.  
  
Shippou and Miroku followed. Inuyasha stared down at the twitching Kisike, wondering how anybody could be so insane. He nudged her with his foot, seeing if she would wake up. Her hand grabbed his ankle. "That. . .was. . .not. . .funny. . ." she mumbled.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped and kicked, trying to release Kisike's hold on his ankle. "Hey! Leggo of me!" he said.  
  
Kisike blinked and looked up at him. ". . .Never! You got in my way!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You were blocking the way to the door!"  
  
". . .Yeah right. If you hadn't run into me, you'd have run into the door."  
  
"Then I would kill the door. But since you got in my way, I'm going to have to kill you." Kisike said, standing up.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Yes! Dot, dot. . .dot. . ."  
  
Inuyasha blinked. "Your brain's broken or something." He said.  
  
"Not as broken as yours." Kisike said. She jumped, landed on his head, then jumped again, landing on the roof. "Well, I am off. I'll see ya in a bit!" she called down at him.  
  
Inuyasha laid on the ground, a footprint on his head, twitching. Kisike laughed and ran to the other side of the roof.  
  
  
  
Author's note- *answering machine comes on* I can't come to the phone right now! Wait a minute! You're amount of Shikon shards and wish to leave a review is amazing! Impossible! How could you get so many Shikon shards and the need to review in such a short about of time?! It's as if every time we get a new Shikon shard, somebody with more Shikon shards rises to mock us! You must tell us how! After the beep! *new voice; yelling* Kisike, stop messing with the answering machine! 'Sike! *a few crashes and yells are heard, then silence, then a beep sounds out* Okay, you heard the beep people! Review! See ya soon! Ja ne! ^ ^ 


	4. Stupid Wall

Author's note-Well, chapter four is now out. Now, just to let all Everworld fans know ahead of time, we kinda used the whole crossing-dimensions-while- asleep thing from Everworld. . .we admit, we don't own it, that was K. A. Applegate's idea. Oh, and here's your random fact of the day: You know how A/N stands for 'author's note'? Well, J/N stands for Jessica's note (me), K/N stands for Kisike's note, A/N now stands for Amanda's note, and R/N stands for Raylin's note. Not hard, ne? Oh, and yes, we do joke about the whole wall thing in real life. . .you'll understand later. . .as for the disclaimer, we don't own Inuyasha or Everworld, or most of the movies and series mentioned in this fanfic. Well, I've got to go now since Kisike, Amanda, Raylin, and I are off to fight a demon that has Shikon shard. . .if we get this shard, we'll be one step closer to owning Inuyasha! ^ ^  
  
  
  
*in the inn*  
  
  
  
"Are you sure that Kisike and Raylin are going to be okay?" Shippou asked Amanda.  
  
"Yeah. They've run into random objects a million times, can't you tell?" She asked. Shippou sweatdropped.  
  
" More or less. . ." He said, looking at Raylin who was talking with Miroku. Bridget was sitting just outside the door, looking through the treetops to the stars. Kisike suddenly appeared beside Raylin.  
  
"Are we there yet.." She asked in a spooky Dracula voice that made Raylin jump. Raylin growled and hit the neko-jin over the head.  
  
" NO! GO AWAY!"  
  
"WHY?!"  
  
"BECAUSE I SAID SO!"  
  
"WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?!"  
  
"A LOT IF I'M THE INTELLIGENT ONE HERE!!" Raylin yelled, then blinked as Miroku stepped between them.  
  
"Now, now ladies, you mustn't fight, there's enough Miroku-kun to go around." He said, smiling at Kisike, who was now on the other side of the room, hiding behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha sweatdropped and tried to bat her away.  
  
"Don't expect me to share you!" Raylin yelled. Everyone stared at her. Miroku blinked at her, then took her hands in his and leaned forwards.  
  
"Then. . .you will bear my child..?" He asked eagerly.  
  
". . .I thought you were a monk." Raylin asked skeptically.  
  
"That I am, Lady Raylin." Miroku nodded.  
  
"Oh, really? THEN GET YOUR HAND OFF MY ASS!!" Raylin screamed, punching Miroku so hard he smashed into the far wall. Kisike sweatdropped and sidled into the opposite side of the room's corner by a window. Miroku twitched and slid down the wall, settling next to Amanda. He sat up immediately and grasped her hand.  
  
"Will you bear my child??" He asked. Amanda's left eye twitched and she hurled him across the room.  
  
"NO!!" She yelled, glaring as the monk smashed into the wall next to Kisike.  
  
"STOP FOLLOWING ME!" She shouted, running to the other side of the room again and hiding behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha sweatdropped again. Amanda growled and kicked Kisike away.  
  
"STAY AWAY!" She hollered. Kisike blinked. Inuyasha blinked.  
  
"..Okieokie. . ." Kisike sighed, curling up in a corner. Shippou hopped on her shoulder and pulled at her cheek. Kisike - -'d and sweatdropped. Shippou grinned and kept pulling at her face. Kisike sighed, picked the kitsune up and set him down on the floor, and pressed her face to her forearms, which were resting on her knees.  
  
"Oh, no. She's sulking." Raylin said, helping Miroku up.  
  
" I am not." Kisike mumbled. Bridget scooted inside the doorway and looked around. "..I'm hungry." Kisike said.  
  
"You're ALWAYS hungry." Raylin said.  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"I'm hungry too!" Shippou said.  
  
"See? The squirrel is hungry too!" Kisike said, pointing to Shippou.  
  
"-.- I'm a fox."  
  
". . .We know you are. Now be quiet and shush."  
  
"Do I get food if I do?"  
  
". . .Yes."  
  
"Yay!"  
  
". . .I hereby christen both of you idiots." Raylin said.  
  
"I hereby christen you stupid! Stop trying to sound like Christopher." Kisike said. She punched the wall, her hand going through the rice paper. "Stupid wall. . ."  
  
Miroku, Shippou, and Inuyasha stared at her. Finally, Shippou asked, "Why do you keep calling the wall 'Christopher'?"  
  
"It's called boredom." Raylin said. "We were sitting around one day and decided to name inanimate objects after Everworld characters. Everworld is a book series we read. We named the walls Christopher, the floor Jalil, the door Senna, the doorframe David, the doorknob Galahad's sword, and the ceiling April." She thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, and we named the nearest gun Keith, but we don't know where the nearest gun is, and I'm having doubts that you even know what a gun is, so I have absolutely no idea why I just told you that."  
  
"So there is no purpose to this odd action?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Feh. Sounds like a waste of time to me." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Well, there was nothing else to do. There's not much you can do in our world." Kisike said.  
  
"There's homework. That you never do." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "I do homework!"  
  
"Rarely."  
  
Kisike sighed. "I wish we could stay in this world."  
  
"We may be doing just that." Bridget said quietly as she stood up.  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment. Inuyasha finally broke the silence by asking, "What's Everworld?"  
  
"Everworld is a place gods, goddesses, unicorns, elves, fairies, druids, witches, wizards, and other magical creatures are." Kisike said.  
  
"Any demons?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Uh. . .not that we know of. . .well, there were the demons created by Eshu in book. . .seven, I think, but I think those were only illusions."  
  
"What about monks?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Uh. . .we only know of the Egyptian priests. . ."  
  
"Well that place just doesn't seem very fun at all." Inuyasha said.  
  
"What's an Egyptian?" Shippou asked.  
  
"Can we eat now?" Kisike complained.  
  
"Yes. We can." Amanda said.  
  
They ate supper, which ended up being pretty much uneventful, and went to bed afterwards.  
  
  
  
*in the other world*  
  
  
  
"Set!" Mr. Terry (or Terry-Sensi as Bridget called him, since he was her teacher) yelled. Automatically, Bridget did a front snap kick. Then there was something like a CNN breaking news kinda thing. CNN breaking news: You are in Tae Kwon Do class. CNN breaking news: You're with a dog demon, a fox demon, a perverted monk, and your friends.  
  
  
  
'Okay, this is weird. It's just like Everworld. I need to talk to somebody, like 'Sike or Raylin or Amanda.' Bridget thought.  
  
"Net. . .Tossage. . .Yossage. . .Illega. . .Yodo. . .Ihop. . .Yoll!" (J/N: These are Korean numbers. . .I can't spell them right. So sue me. . . -.-) Terry-Sensi called. Bridget finished the last seven snap kicks in unison with the class. She raised her hand. "Yes?" Terry-Sensi asked.  
  
"May I go to the restroom?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Yes you may." Terry-Sensi said, bowing her out. Bridget bowed and left the room. She didn't go to the restroom, however. Instead she went downstairs and dialed Kisike's cell phone number on a payphone.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
". . .Well, this is odd." Kisike said, looking down at her little sister, Audrey. She was in the airport with her family, on the way to Florida for Christmas break. The one-year-old looked up and giggled. "Do not laugh! This is not a happy place!" Kisike said.  
  
Audrey merely blinked up at her. Kisike seemed to get a breaking news thingy. ". . .Well, this is unfortunate." She said. She thought for a moment. "Well, why do I keep saying well at the beginning of all of my sentences now?"  
  
"Kisike, stop talking to yourself." Kisike's mom said to her.  
  
"Well, I could, but then people wouldn't stare at me like the insane, homicidal maniac that I am." Kisike said.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Nothin." Kisike said, grinning mysteriously. Her cell phone suddenly rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Kisike, it's not a dream, is it?! We really are in Japan with a bunch of demons and other people, aren't we?!" Bridget asked.  
  
"Yeah. . .Everworld thing. . ." Kisike said. She grinned. "Instant Transmission! Gotta love it!" she said, mimicking Goku.  
  
". . . 'Sike, this is serious. Are we sure this is like the Everworld thing?"  
  
"Nope. But if it's broken, I will go ask Mo'Steel for some duct tape."  
  
". . ."  
  
"Yes. Dot, dot, dot. Now, I have to go, but I'll talk to you on MSN when I get the chance. Well, bye! And write more!"  
  
"I will. Bye." Bridget sighed. Kisike turned the phone off and put it away.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Amanda lounged on the couch, watching the second Cooler movie that she had borrowed from Bridget. She seemed to get a CNN update from the self that must be in that other world. She looked around. ". . .This is not good." She said. She got up, stopped the tape, and got a soda. Then she got on the phone and dialed Bridget's number.  
  
"Hello? Is Bridget there?" she asked.  
  
"HI!" a familiar voice said. It was Bridget's ten-year-old little sister, Elena.  
  
Amanda grinned. "Hey Elena. How's my little angel doing?" she asked.  
  
"Good." Elena said, happy that she was being called an angel by somebody and knowing that it was going to drive Bridget insane later on.  
  
"That's good. Is Bridget there?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No. She's at Tae Kwon Do class." Elena said.  
  
"Oh. Well could you tell her I called?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Okay. Bye."  
  
"Bye, little angel."  
  
Amanda hung up the phone, sighed, turned the movie back on, and sat on the couch, barely paying attention to the movie and mostly her thoughts.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Raylin argued with her sister and fell asleep later. : P  
  
  
  
*back in Inuyasha's world*  
  
  
  
Sesshoumaru stood outside the inn, watching it. "So," he said, "those annoying humans were demons after all." He said quietly.  
  
"They are demons. And they will mess with your plan to retake the Tetsiagga." Said a familiar voice behind him.  
  
"You again." Sesshoumaru said, turning around to see a man wrapped in a baboon skin. "What do you know about these new demons?"  
  
"I know that they weren't always demons. They were mistakes. Freaks. They were able to cross a line of the dimension star." Naraku said.  
  
"The what. . .? What is the dimension star? I have heard of such a thing, yet do not know what it is."  
  
"Millions of years ago, a council of gods and goddesses created the universe. But it was hectic, all chaos. None of the parts of the universe went along with another. So they were quickly separated. Inside the star is the original universe, the one that they came from. Outside of the star are ten dimensions and five in the points, and this one is one of them. The one they came from is in the center."  
  
One night every ten thousand years, the universes would collide, and a select few would be able to cross the borders and see beyond the box that held them firmly inside their dimension. Those four were some of the select few, though they did not know about it. Demons on the other hand, do not have to be in select few. That is why you were in the dimension collision and able to see beyond this one into the other one." Naraku explained.  
  
"I don't see why I should care. I only want to kill Inuyasha and take the Tetsiagga. I don't care about those other demons, just so long as they don't get in my way."  
  
"They don't seem like much, do they? But you know they're going to get in the way. They've already befriended Inuyasha, the fox demon, and the monk. You must kill the four of them, if you wish to succeed." Naraku said.  
  
Sesshoumaru was quiet for a time, staring at the inn. "Tell me. Are they a threat to me, or to you? I am not stupid, Naraku." He said after a while.  
  
"Of course you are not. They are a threat to the both of us." Naraku said.  
  
Sesshoumaru was quiet again, until he finally turned around and walked back into the forest. "Not tonight." He muttered.  
  
"What?! Where are you going?!" Naraku demanded.  
  
"I wish to observe these 'threats' first." Sesshoumaru replied. Without another word, he disappeared into the forest.  
  
  
  
*In the morning; forest*  
  
  
  
"So where are we going, exactly?" Raylin asked.  
  
"To see the old hag to find out how to get rid of you guys." Inuyasha said.  
  
Raylin raised and eyebrow. ". . .The what?"  
  
"He means Kaede." Shippou said. "She's Kikyo's sister."  
  
"Kiky-who?" Kisike asked. Amanda elbowed her sharply in the ribs to shut her up, seeing Inuyasha look away. "Ouch!" Kisike whined.  
  
"You okay?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Feh. I wonder if we could just send you guys through the well to get rid of you." Inuyasha said, ignoring the question.  
  
"But Inuyasha, that would just send them back to. . .well, you know where it would send them back to, but I don't think they're from there." Miroku said.  
  
"I don't care. Just so long as they're away from us." Inuyasha said. He glanced over at Bridget.  
  
Bridget was quietly looking at some rocks she had gotten at the gift shop at the Okeefenokee Swamp. One of the stones was purple and crystal like. "Hey, you!" Inuyasha said. Bridget looked up and Inuyasha walked over to her. "Lemme see that. It looks like a jewel shard." Inuyasha said, picking the purple stone out of her hand.  
  
"Uh. . .that's amethyst. . ." Bridget said slowly. Inuyasha studied the stone for a moment.  
  
"Feh. You're right. Whatever 'amethyst' is." He said, tossing it away.  
  
"Hey! My grandma got me these stones! Including that one!" Bridget yelled, catching the stone.  
  
"Maybe so, but it's worthless."  
  
Kisike was oddly quiet, humming something and no doubt planning something evil. She suddenly walked over to Inuyasha and started braiding his hair. Inuyasha clenched his fists and glared over at Kisike. "Can I braid your hair?" Kisike asked casually as she continued to braid his hair. Miroku and Shippou snickered. Bridget, Amanda, and Raylin on the other hand, just sighed and shook their heads.  
  
". . .Do you mind?!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"Actually, I think the question is if YOU mind. See, I'M the one that's braiding YOUR hair, not you." Kisike said.  
  
Inuyasha's eye twitched. ". . .What?"  
  
"Kisike, stop trying to use reverse psychology on him." Amanda sighed.  
  
"I wasn't meaning to use reverse psychology! I was merely trying to confuse him! Meheh!" Kisike shot back.  
  
". . .Well stop trying to confuse him. And stop picking on him, he doesn't like it!"  
  
"And just how would you know?!" Kisike said.  
  
Miroku chuckled. "Inuyasha, I believe Lady Amanda is quite fond of you." He said.  
  
Amanda blushed. "I am not!" she shot back.  
  
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, then glared. "Well good. Don't like me." he said.  
  
Amanda looked surprised. 'Did I offend him or something. . .?' she wondered. Shippou tugged on her pants leg. Amanda looked down.  
  
"Don't worry. He's just been having a lot of bad luck lately." Shippou assured her.  
  
"You got that right." Inuyasha muttered bitterly.  
  
Everybody was silent for the rest of the way. They finally came to a village.  
  
"I'm hungry." Kisike whined.  
  
"I'll say it again. You're always hungry." Raylin sighed.  
  
"Wait here." Inuyasha said. He walked up to a building and knocked.  
  
After a few moments the door finally opened and the girls could see an old woman with an eye patch at the door. Inuyasha and the woman spoke for a moment, then Inuyasha went inside and the door shut.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"I don't know where they came from, but I don't think they're from the future. At least, not the future of this world." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Ye think so, eh?" Kaede said. She went to the door and opened it a crack to take another look at the girls, who were now playing 'whack Miroku with his staff thingy while Shippou tried to stop them'. "I believe ye are right. Ten thousand years have passed. A dimension collision has happened again."  
  
". . .A what?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
Kaede explained what a dimension collision was. When the dimensions of the dimension star, of course, collided with one another. "Ye were also right to believe that that red-haired demon was a fairy demon. At least, part fairy demon." She finished.  
  
"She has the light." Inuyasha said.  
  
There was silence for a while. "Inuyasha. I hope ye don't think she's another reincarnation of Kikyo." Kaede said quietly.  
  
Inuyasha clenched his fists and turned away, looking down at the ground and swallowing hard. "Of course she's not. She doesn't have Kikyo's scent." He said in a strained voice. "I think Kagome was the only reincarnation of Kikyo."  
  
"It's not ye fault, Inuyasha." Kaede said.  
  
"But it is! If only I was more careful, Kagome would have been okay! But. . .now she's dead. . ." Inuyasha said loudly, shutting his eyes tightly and trying not to let any tears appear. "I couldn't save her." He whispered.  
  
"Ye are not her killer. Sesshoumaru is."  
  
Inuyasha glared. "Sesshoumaru. . .I will kill him. . ." he growled.  
  
"Back to the subject of these four girls, I think ye should know that there is a possibility for them to get back. A demon lured them here, but I do not know which one. They cross through the demon and into a copy of themselves in their world while they sleep. Only when that demon is killed, can they leave. But I do not know who that demon is, and when the demon is killed, they will have to choose between their world.and this one." Kaede said.  
  
Inuyasha looked up, taking a deep breath, and looked over at Kaede. "They will choose their world, won't they? They aren't just going to stay here. They can't." he said.  
  
"I am not the one who can answer that. If ye have observed them, ye will know that they are very different from each other. They will want different things, make different choices. They may not like their world and choose this one over that one. Or, they may long for home and choose their world."  
  
". . .Thanks a lot."  
  
"Ye must be careful! If they have a demon that could lure across dimensions coming after them, then that same powerful demon could attack at any time. More powerful than ye."  
  
Inuyasha looked outside. He saw that the girls had stopped their little game and where standing off to the side. Miroku was nursing the bumps on his head, Amanda and Raylin were arguing (more than likely over Gohan -.-), and Shippou watched as Kisike put Bridget's hair in pigtails.  
  
He sighed. "If they choose to stay in this world, they don't know what they're getting into." He said in a soft voice.  
  
With that said, he went outside and walked over to them. He was silent for a moment. Everybody looked over at him expectantly. ". . .Well?" Bridget asked finally.  
  
Inuyasha sighed. "Lets go get some lunch."  
  
"Yay! Lunch time!" Kisike cheered, finishing putting Bridget's hair up.  
  
". . .Why are you messing with everyone's hair today?" Raylin questioned.  
  
"Oh, come on Raylin. I think it's kinda cute." Amanda said, poking one of Bridget's pigtails. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"Why me. . .?" she sighed.  
  
"Would fish be okay for lunch?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
Kisike ran around in circles. "Ewwie! Fishies!" she cried.  
  
Everybody sweatdropped. "Well /I/ like fish." Bridget said. Next to oriental food, seafood was some of her favorite food.  
  
"And /I/ have a squeeglyspooch."  
  
". . ."  
  
"Chicken?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
Kisike stopped. "So long as it isn't from McDonalds! McDonalds yucky!"  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "McWhat?" he demanded.  
  
"McDonalds! McDonalds ish yucky!" Kisike said. There was sudden movement in the trees. Inuyasha looked over at it. Everybody else followed. "Oh, don't worry. It was probably just a squirrel or something." Kisike said. She suddenly burst our laughing. "Ice Age!" She picked up an acorn and tossed it into the forest.  
  
"Ow!" a little voice yelled. A little boy of about nine walked out clutching a bump on his head.  
  
"Who are you?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I'm Akio." The little boy said. "My village was attacked by a demon this morning."  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha said. He looked over at Miroku and Shippou. Miroku nodded.  
  
"Aw. . .but what about lunch?!" Shippou whined.  
  
"Later Shippou, this village needs some help." Miroku said. "Lead the way." He said to the boy.  
  
The boy nodded and began running into the forest. Miroku began following but Inuyasha looked over at the girls, then Shippou. "Shippou," he said, "Watch over them. Make sure they don't leave the village."  
  
"Okay. . ." Shippou said.  
  
With that, Inuyasha ran off. "Aw! We wanna go!" Kisike said.  
  
"Sorry, but Inuyasha doesn't want you all to get hurt like Kagome did."  
  
Raylin blinked. "Tell us. Who was Kagome? And what happened to her?"  
  
Shippou sighed. "Well, it's like this. . ."  
  
  
  
Author's note: *answering machine comes on* Hey, we're busy beating the crap out of Bob, the typo demon at the moment to get our second Shikon shard. . .an easy win. . .so we can't answer the phone at the moment. . .hang on. *in the back ground* 'Sike, give that to me! Give me back the answering machine! *sounds of a struggle, then Kisike's voice comes on* *singing to the theme of 'found a peanut* Found a flame, found a flame, found a flame in our reviews! I've done killed the flamer, found a flame in our reviews! Found a reviewer, found a reviewer, found a reviewer, that was nice! I spared her humany life now, found a reviewer that was nice! *stops singing* Hey! Gimme! *another sound of a struggle* *Jessica's voice (my voice) comes back on* Sorry about that.well, you heard her. Do not flame or she'll kill you, and I dunno if I can stop her or not.so review at the sound of the beep! *beep sounds* Well, wish us luck at killing Bob. For the sake of all authors that hate typos. See ya soon! Ja ne! 


	5. Yeah! Let's get ourselves killed! I've n...

Author's Note-We are back everybody! Sorry about not being able to update soon. After killing Bob, they typo demon, we ran into Kouga and he messed with my dimensional computer and downloaded a virus. Fortunately, the we managed to get rid of the virus before it could wipe out Tangerine, but not before it wiped out Microsoft (Tangerine got moved to wordpad). So we had to re-download it, which meant that we had to go back to the present and ask my dad to bring it back. But he couldn't re-download it, so he had to ask a friend at work to help. *sigh*  
  
Kouga: Oh sure, blame the wolf, we're easy targets.  
  
Me: What?!  
  
Kouga: -.- Nothing.  
  
Anyways, we've now have four Shikon shards (got into a battle with a really mean demon for the fourth one. . .ouch. . .) but we STILL don't own Inuyasha and pretty much every other series/book/movie mentioned in here. yet. And NOW we have to kill the Cartoon Network peoples for taking Inuyasha off the air. *sigh* Oh well. At least maybe they'll have a Shikon shard. But we'll do that AFTER we finish finding all the shards in the Feudal Era (we're back now). Oh well. Now on with the fic!  
  
'I'm not going to let those four die. I failed once. I'm not going to fail again.' Inuyasha thought as he ran through the forest. Kikyo's face flashed into his mind. 'Twice.' He amended. He remembered what had happened a few months ago. It seemed like a nightmare, what had happened to Kagome. . .  
*two months ago*  
"So, you really think you can defeat me again." Sesshoumaru said.  
  
"Yeah, I do. You'll never have the Tetsusaiga or kill me. When will that get through that thick skull of yours?" Inuyasha said confidently.  
  
"Inuyasha, be careful!" Kagome yelled.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked over at her. "I believe that we should first get rid of those innocent bystanders first, don't you?" he said.  
  
Inuyasha looked surprised. "Not Kagome!" he cried. He turned to Kagome. "Kagome, get out of here!" he yelled. He watched Sesshoumaru run towards her. "Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha yelled. He dropped the Tetsaiga, ran after Sesshoumaru, and grabbed his sleeve.  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped. "Let go!" he ordered.  
  
"No way! You're just going to kill Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. He looked to the right of him where Miroku was. "Miroku!" he yelled. "Get Kagome and Shippou out of here!"  
  
Miroku hesitated.  
  
"What the hell are you waiting for?! Get going!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Miroku nodded and ran over to Kagome. "Come Lady Kagome. We must evacuate the area." He said.  
  
"No! I'm not leaving Inuyasha here to fend on his own against Sesshoumaru!" Kagome argued stubbornly.  
  
"Please Lady Kagome. There's nothing you can do here. Not against Sesshoumaru." Miroku said.  
  
"No way."  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha said, grabbing Sesshoumaru's arm since the sleeve's fabric began to tear. "Get out of here now! Please! I'm more likely to get hurt if you stay!" he yelled.  
  
Kagome stared a moment. Shippou tugged on her pants leg. "Please Kagome. Let's go." He said.  
  
Kagome stared at Inuyasha. "Inu. . .ya. . .sha. . ." she said. She nodded. "Come on Shippou, Miroku. We're out of here." She said, running away from the battlefield.  
  
Sesshoumaru growled. "I said let go." He ordered, still trying to pull away.  
  
"I'm not letting you kill Kagome!" Inuyasha said.  
  
Sesshoumaru's claws dug into Inuyasha's arm, poisoning it. Inuyasha grimaced and clutched his arm, his hand slipping away. "You have a lot to learn, hanyou." He said coldly. His claws plunged into Inuyasha's stomach. Inuyasha cried out and went limp.  
  
Sesshoumaru tossed Inuyasha to the ground. Inuyasha stared up at him. "Not. . .Kagome. . .please. . ." he whispered. Sesshoumaru began walking over to Tetsusaiga.  
  
Kagome stopped and turned. "Inuyasha!" she cried, hearing Inuyasha's cry.  
  
"Please Lady Kagome, we must keep going." Miroku said.  
  
"No! Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, running over to Inuyasha.  
  
"Kagome. . .get outta here. . ." Inuyasha whispered.  
  
"No Inuyasha! I'm not leaving you!" Kagome said stubbornly. She got the bow and arrow she had been holding and aimed it at Sesshoumaru.  
  
"A stupid sword. . .it isn't worth all this. . ." Inuyasha said under his breath.  
  
Kagome shot the arrow, taking Sesshoumaru by surprise as the arrow buried itself in his arm. He turned to Kagome. "You should have left when you had the chance. . .human." He said, walking over to her. Kagome gasped and took a few steps back when he stabbed her in the heart with his claws. Kagome collapsed and fell, her head resting on Inuyasha's back and her body lying in a puddle of blood.  
***  
'But why didn't Sesshoumaru take the Tetsusaiga? Why? After all that trouble?' Inuyasha wondered for what must have been the thousandth time. He slowed and rested a hand on the Tetsusaiga. 'Why would Sesshoumaru kill Kagome, almost kill me, and nearly lose his other arm for something that he didn't want?' he wondered. He grit his teeth. 'No, he still wants the Tetsusaiga. Didn't take is more like it. Why didn't he take it?'  
  
"We're nearly there," Akio said, "It's close."  
  
Inuyasha looked down at the boy. Somehow he kind of reminded him of Sota, Kagome's little brother.  
*one month ago*  
"Kagome. . .she can't be dead. . .you killed her!" Kagome's mother cried.  
  
"For the last time, I didn't kill her! Sesshoumaru did." Inuyasha yelled back. He didn't tell them that Sesshoumaru was his brother. He didn't want anything to do with that youkai. After he had gotten better, he and Kaede had both decided that it may be for the best that Inuyasha himself tell Kagome's family what had happened to her. Unfortunately, they weren't taking it too well.  
  
Sota tugged on his sleeve. "I believe you Mr. Inuyasha." He said. Inuyasha looked down at him.  
  
". . .Thanks." He said. He turned to go, but before he left, he said to Kagome's grandfather, "By the way, gramps. Put a demon ward or something on the well and hope that it works." He paused. "I intend on never coming back." With that, he left.  
***  
"Inuyasha." Miroku said. Inuyasha looked up at him.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"We're here."  
  
Inuyasha looked around at the scene. There was a smoking wreckage of buildings and such. Corpses littered the ground.  
  
"We're too late, it seems."  
  
"Feh. We came here to kill the demon, not to play doctor. That's what we're going to do." Inuyasha said. He, Miroku, and Akio walked into the wreckage.  
  
"If you see any demons, say something." Inuyasha said distractedly.  
  
"Of course." Miroku said.  
  
"I will." Akio said.  
***  
"So that's what happened. . ." Raylin said when Shippou had finished telling about what happened to Kagome and who she was.  
  
"Sad. . .Oh well! I wanna help fight the demon!" Kisike said, jumping up and down, unable to keep still.  
  
"But Kisike, we don't even have any weapons. . ." Bridget started.  
  
"So?! We got fists! Besides, Miroku doesn't have a weapon. He has a rosary. And a stick. That's it." Kisike said.  
  
"Actually, Miroku has an Air Void in his hand." Shippou said, but everyone was ignoring him because of course, he's Shippou.  
  
"Well, we gonna fight him? Let's GO!" Raylin said.  
  
"Yeah! Let's get ourselves killed! I've never been dead before!" Kisike said.  
  
"Maybe that's because it's permanent," Raylin said, "But yeah, let's go."  
  
Amanda sighed, once again wondering if she was the only sane one there.  
  
"Don't worry Amanda. If you're wondering if anyone else here is sane, so am I." Bridget sighed.  
  
Amanda nodded.  
  
"But I'm supposed to make sure that you four don't leave the village." Shippou protested.  
  
"The village. The village. He never said this village. There's a 'the' in it. I'm sure there's a village with a 'the' in it...somewhere around here. We need to find it so we can't leave it." Kisike said.  
  
"Yeah but-" Shippou blinked. "Wait. What?"  
  
"It means let's go. C'mon. I know Inuyasha's scent. We'll follow that."  
***  
"That was the town elder!" Akio cried, running over to what the body of an old man. Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other and followed. Akio shook the elder. "Elder! Elder, wake up!"  
  
"A. . .Akio. . .you. . .traitor. . .how dare. . .you do. . .this. . .to. . .us. . ." the elder accused. He then died.  
  
"What's this?" Inuyasha asked, picking something up nearby. It was a purple shard. "A Shikon shard! And it has your scent on it." He said pointedly at the boy.  
  
"W-what. . .?" the boy stammered, backing away. He just so happened to back into Miroku.  
  
"Who are you exactly?" Miroku asked.  
  
Akio took a few steps forward until he was in between Inuyasha and Miroku and began to grin and chuckle evilly and insanely.  
  
"Who are you?! Tell us now!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"If you wish. . ." Akio said. There was a blinding flash of light.  
  
"Dammit, I can't see!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
When the light faded, they saw a boy with red hair and golden eyes. He had a katana at his side. "I am the demon you seek. The demon of the sun and fire. . .Akio." Akio said.  
  
"You destroyed your own village??" Miroku asked, appalled. The sun demon chuckled, once again.  
  
"Fool. This was not my village." Akio said. Miroku blinked at him.  
  
"Then why did you destroy it??" Inuyasha demanded, unsheathing Tetsaiga.  
  
"I wanted the Shikon shards that the elder kept in an old shrine that was at the end of the road." He held up an arm where Inuyasha and Miroku could see a gold cuffs around his forearm. There were two Shikon shards near his wrist. "And as you can see, I. . .I. . . . . . . .I.." He trailed off and his left eye started twitching. He was glaring past Inuyasha. "WHAT IS THAT?!"  
  
"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' A 'WHAT'?!" A voice yelled. Inuyasha sweatdropped and hesitantly glanced over his shoulder to see Kisike, Bridget, Raylin, Amanda, and Shippou tied and gagged with duct tape hovering behind him. Raylin raised an eyebrow and tapped her chin with her index finger.  
  
"Technically, he called you a 'that'." She said. Kisike stuck her tongue out at her.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Blahblah. I'd like to see you go through one day without saying a word with more than three syllables." Kisike said, turning back and glaring at the sun demon person. Inuyasha glared at Shippou.  
  
" I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THEM IN THE VILLAGE!" He yelled. Shippou could only mumble something, since he was gagged. Miroku blinked at the silvery scroll thing over Shippou's mouth and walked past Akio and Inuyasha to poke at it with the end of his staff.  
  
"Some sort of spell scroll?" He asked. Kisike blinked at him.  
  
"It's tape. . ."She said.  
  
"Duck tape." Amanda said.  
  
"DUCT. With a 'T'." Raylin sighed, obviously bored with the un.smart brains around her. Miroku nodded slightly, then slowly peeled a corner of the tape off Shippou's mouth.  
  
"Get it off me!" Shippou mumbled, but none could understand him since 96 percent of his mouth was still stuck to the tape. Miroku stared at the tape, then suddenly ripped the tape off. Shippou screamed and fainted from the serious injury that the tape caused. But he didn't really faint. He just fell over with swirly eyes, which is pretty close to fainting. Miroku blinked at the orange fuzzy hair that was now off of Shippou and on the duct tape.  
  
"Hair removal?" He asked. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"It's. . .TAPE." She yelled. Akio sweatdropped.  
  
"..Um. . .hello?" He asked. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"We're fighting a demon here!" He hollered. Everyone else who wasn't sweatdropping sweatdropped.  
  
"He's the boy from before, right?" Amanda asked. Inuyasha nodded.  
  
"He turned out to be the demon that destroyed the village. All for jewel shards." He said.  
  
"Well that's a surprise." Raylin muttered.  
  
"Can we fiiiiight nooooowwww??" Kisike whined. Inuyasha glared at them.  
  
"You can't fight! You don't have any experience!" He hollered.  
  
"Yes I doooooo! I watch DBZ!" Kisike hollered back.  
  
"You need to cut down on your daily dosage of television, Kisike." Raylin said.  
  
". . .What?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Anyways, you can't fight! None of you can!" Inuyasha hollered, turning back to Akio.  
  
"Sure we can!" Raylin yelled. Kisike - -'d.  
  
"You forgot your pea shooter." She said. Raylin glared at her, then turned and sulked silently. Inuyasha sighed.  
  
"Can we just fight the demon now?" He mumbled. Kisike and Bridget were already beside him in fighter's stance.  
  
"Remember, he's probably got the mind of a child, if that was his human form. Which means he probably thinks a lot like Inuyasha." Bridget said. Inuyasha's upper lip twitched.  
  
"What's tha. . ." He trailed off as Kisike 'heh'-d.  
  
"Shouldn't be too hard to beat then." She grinned. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" He hollered. Akio sweatdropped.  
  
"Fools." He muttered, shocked that the others had been so absorbed in their petty hollering session they didn't notice the wide ring of the sun's fire he'd set around them. Bridget blinked.  
  
"Oh, no!" she cried.  
  
"Now your friends can stay out of this for the moment. It's just you and me, hanyou." Akio said, smirking.  
  
"Well this is unfortunate. . ." Miroku said. He stuck a finger in the fire and was burned. "Ow!"  
  
"What, did you think it was fake fire?" Raylin asked.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Hey! That is not fair! Now they can't even escape!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Kisike's eye twitched. "Who. . .exactly. . .said anything about escaping?!" she demanded. She turned to Amanda. "WAS IT YOOOOU?!"  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. "Um. . .no. . ."  
  
"Unguarded!" Akio yelled as unsheathed his katana made of fire and charged at Inuyasha. Inuyasha whirled around and put the Tetsusaiga up as defense.  
  
"You know, it doesn't exactly help you when you go yelling out that you're going to attack!" Inuyasha said, smirking.  
  
Akio smirked as well. "You might as well wipe that confident look off your face." He said. He swiped with his sword and the sword went right through the Tetsiagga and crashed upon Inuyasha's head.  
  
"You see hanyou, my sword is made of fire and turns to steel when I wish it." Akio said. Inuyasha winced at the burns the sword gave him.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha said. He swiped at Akio with Tetsaiga. "Well my sword is made from my father's fang." He said.  
  
Akio easily jumped over the sword, flipped, and landed on Inuyasha's head, then jumped off and landed a few feet behind him. "Grrr. . . You watched Kisike do that, didn't you?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"I'm a fast learner." Akio said, looking over his shoulder to grin at his captives.  
  
"Well we'll see how fast it takes you to learn how to die." Inuyasha said, swiping at Akio again. Akio jumped back.  
  
"Hey! You almost got me that time!" Akio mocked. He raised two fingers, a small flame appearing at the end. "Eternal flame!" he yelled, throwing the flame at Inuyasha.  
  
The flame landed in front of Inuyasha. He raised an eyebrow. "This is it? All you've got is a flaming sword and the power to light candles?"  
  
"It is not to light candles!" Akio said in an almost whining voice.  
  
"Oh, my mistake. Candles and lanterns. And maybe campfires if you're lucky."  
  
"Grrr. . .Eternal flame hellhole blaze!" Akio yelled. The fire suddenly grew and engulfed Inuyasha in it. Inuyasha screamed.  
  
"Stop, drop, and roll!" Raylin yelled.  
  
". . .What?" Inuyasha said, stopping his jumping up and down for a second to think over what he thought was Raylin's stupidity.  
  
". . .Raylin, we learned that in kindergarden." Amanda said.  
  
"So what?! Just because we learned it in kindergarden, doesn't mean it doesn't work!" Raylin yelled back.  
  
"Um. . .Lady Raylin, what do you expect stopping, dropping, and rolling will do?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Hey, I know what I'm doing, okay?!" Raylin yelled back.  
  
Inuyasha's eye twitched.  
  
"Well hey, you already have the first part down. You stopped. Now drop." Raylin said simply.  
  
Shippou whispered something to Bridget. Inuyasha's ears twitched. "You better not. . ." he started.  
  
"Osuwari!" Bridget yelled. Inuyasha slammed into the ground, a flaming heap.  
  
"STUPID NECKLACE!" he yelled.  
  
"Second step complete. Now just roll." Raylin instructed.  
  
Inuyasha grimaced, still being on fire. Akio laughed. "Your pathetic attempts to put the fire out is a useless waste of air. This fire won't stop until its burnt you to a crisp!" he said. Inuyasha grimaced again. The boy looked down at Inuyasha and noticed something he hadn't earlier. "Your clothes. They aren't burning. Only your skin and hair. . ."  
  
"Hey, maybe after this battle, Inuyasha will have a new hairstyle! Bald! And a tan!" Kisike yelled.  
  
"THAT IS NOT FUNNY!" Inuyasha shouted.  
  
"Sure it is! See, we're laughing! Hahahaaa!" Kisike hollered.  
  
"Lady Kisike, this is not a predicament to be laughing about. . ."  
  
"Sure it is! You don't see the humor in somebody burning in a flaming mass to their deaths?!"  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"Exactly! Now be quiet!"  
  
Miroku blinked and went over to the other side of the group.  
  
The boy stared down at Inuyasha, then grinned and snapped his fingers. "I know now! Firerat skin!" he said.  
  
Inuyasha cracked an eye open. "You. . .just noticed. . .?" he said.  
  
"You can still talk. . .you're a tougher hanyou than I thought you were." Akio said. He squatted down next to him. "But you'll fall eventually, just like many others before you. Not even many full demons can survive this attack. The only two ones I know of by far is Naraku and Sesshoumaru." Akio said.  
  
"W-what?!" Inuyasha gasped, the smoke beginning to choke him.  
  
"Yes. Naraku defeated me soon afterwards and Sesshoumaru just left. . ." Akio sighed. He grinned again. "But let's not dwell on unwanted memories. I know you won't live to ponder them." he said. Inuyasha glared up at him through his charred bangs. Akio waved a hand in front of Inuyasha's face, hands going through the fire, mocking him.  
  
"FOX FIRE!" Shippou yelled, the blue blaze of flames shooting out and surrounding Inuyasha, the other burning evil flames sizzled slightly and whipped at the top of the blue fire. Everybody except Inuyasha turned to look at Shippou, who had obviously been able to break free of the duct tape somehow. Inuyasha let out a long sigh and jumped to his feet.  
  
"Good to know that fox fire is good for something." Miroku said, smiling. Shippou turned to glare at him, small hands balled into fists.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?!" He demanded. Miroku grinned and waved him off.  
  
"Nothing! Nothing!" He assured him. Shippou huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Inuyasha grinned at Akio, picked up Tetsusaiga, then paused.  
  
"How do we defeat him though?" Bridget wondered.  
  
"Maybe if we give him candy he'll leave us alone." Kisike suggested.  
  
"Candy?!" Akio hollered. Then he sweatdropped. "Wait. . .I want candy. . .but. . .Naraku said to get the shaaaaaards. . ." He brought his hands up to fist in his hair. "What do I doooooo?? AH! Forget that LADY MAN! I WANT THE CANDAY!" He said, running up to Kisike. Kisike raised an eyebrow.  
  
". . ."  
  
". . .Do you even have any candy, Kisike?" Bridget asked. Kisike blinked at her, then started frantically rummaging around in her pockets. Akio sweatdropped.  
  
". . .I want candyyyy!" He whined. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"This kid is worse than Shippou.." He muttered, then froze when Shippou yelled that he wanted candy as well. Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched. "..Never mind.." He growled.  
  
"You shouldn't talk to your self! People will wonder!" Amanda chirped, grinning at him. Inuyasha flinched.  
  
". . .Grrrrr. . ."  
  
". . .Mind putting out your fires first?" Kisike asked Akio, who nodded. The sun fires disappeared. She brought out two pieces of bubble gum from her pocket. "..Here. . ." She said, handing him one. Akio took it and stuffed one in his mouth, then after a few seconds, swallowed. Kisike sweatdropped. "YAH DON'T SWALLOW IT!" Akio blinked at her.  
  
"Why not?" He asked, looking all innocent.  
  
". . .It's bad for your digestive system.." Kisike said. "..You chew it. . .it lasts for about an hour if you chew it." She said, unwrapping the second piece for him. Akio took it and put it in his mouth, and chewed.  
  
". . . .Minty!" He grinned. Raylin sweatdropped.  
  
"You mean I didn't /have/ to put up with the Doggie-boy's. . .dog breath this whole time??" She demanded. Kisike shrugged. Raylin's lip twitched. "Could you please catch her on fire for me?!" She yelled. Akio blinked.  
  
"Got any candy?" He grinned. Raylin sweatdropped.  
  
"Little brat." She growled. Akio merely laughed and skipped off. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
". . .Well that was nice.." She said, looking around. Everyone glared at her.  
  
"..That was not nice." Inuyasha mumbled, walking back over to them. He stopped. "Wait. . .that kid still has the Shikon shards!" he yelled.  
  
Bridget grabbed his arm before he could chase after the kid. "Hold on Inuyasha. Let him go. We were lucky to escape with our lives." She said.  
  
Inuyasha glared at her, then sighed. "Fine." He said.  
  
Sesshoumaru stood at the edge of the forest. "They hardly fought," he said, "But they're resourceful. And forgiving. It will be their downfall." He said. He walked off.  
  
"The kid mentioned Naraku. . .he must be getting close. . ." Inuyasha muttered.  
  
Kisike's ears twitched. "What? Who is Naraku?" she asked.  
  
"He's the one who got Inuyasha and Kikyo to hate each other." Shippou said.  
  
"We'd better get you four back to your own place and time. Things are getting rough out here and you can't be caught out in the middle of it." Inuyasha said.  
  
"We would if we could, I'm sure." Bridget said quietly, her eyes darkening to black and blue.  
  
"Well. . .we just have to kill the demon that lured you here. That's all." Inuyasha said. He sighed. "Unfortunately, we don't know which one it was. . .this time is filled with demons. It would take too long to find him or her."  
  
"Oh. . ." Bridget said, looking up at the sky. It began to snow.  
  
"I think it would be wise to return to the village." Miroku said.  
  
Inuyasha nodded as he watched Kisike fall back with swirly eyes. "Sooooo hungry. . ." she whined. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* Hey, readers! Once again, we're okay and we apologize for the delay. We can't kinda answer the phone at the moment, because Kouga keeps trying to gnaw on the phone, so we have to hide it. He seems to insist on following us. . .he wants our Shikon shards but we ain't giving them up. . .So- *arguing in the background* *Kisike's voice comes on* Revieeew! Review, review, review, revieeew! Hey, no! It's my turn to do the answering machine! *sounds of another struggle* *Jessica's voice comes back on* Um. . .yeah. . .anyways, we're getting your messages, and we just want to thank you reviewers for all the reviews so far. *to Kisike* Hey, where's Raylin and Amanda? *Kisike's voice* Oh.just hanging over an active volcano and molten lava. . .I think a demon put them up there. . . *Jessica's voice* WHAT?! Sorry, I've got to go! No Amanda and Raylin, no Tangerine! Please review after the sound of the beep! *beep sounds* 


	6. Today was sandwich day!

Author's note-Hello, humans and. . .um. . .aliens. Today we continue Tangerine. Yeah, we know that we haven't posted in awhile. Oh well. We have a new chapter out. *sighs* We still don't own Inuyasha. . .or any other series or books or movies yet. . . We haven't killed the Cartoon Network peoples.we might, we might not. They edited Yu Yu Hakusho, but brought back Inuyasha. For that, we're still trying to decide whether to kill them or not. Anyways, we have collected a Shikon Shard. We got it from a squirrel demon. So here's the fic! .Enjoy.  
*30 min. later; back in the village*  
Everybody sweatdropped as they watched Kisike go through her bowls of chicken fried rice at top Saiya-jin speed (one bowl per ten seconds).  
  
Kisike finished her forth bowl and sat back. "That was good. Lunch was quick." She said.  
  
"Uh. . ." Amanda started.  
  
Raylin rolled her eyes.  
  
Bridget sat in deep thought, eating her food slower than usual. "What's on your mind Bridget?" Amanda asked.  
  
Bridget looked up, startled. "Nothing!" she said, her eyes going a bit yellow and with flecks of red.  
  
"Bridget, your eyes are red." Amanda said.  
  
"That must mean you like someone since you're not angry. So who is it?" Raylin asked.  
  
Bridget blushed. "Is it any of your business?!"  
  
"Not really. But tell us anyways." Raylin said.  
  
"No way!" Bridget squeaked.  
  
"Eh, leave her alone. Just so long as she doesn't like Miroku, she'll be fine. If she did, Raylin would beat her up and she would love a pervert." Kisike said.  
  
"It's not Miroku. It's not somebody that's here at the moment, not in this room." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike's face lit up as she figured it out. She saw Bridget shake her head, so she covered her mouth. Amanda raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between the two. She jumped over to Kisike and shook her back and forth by her shoulders.  
  
"Tell meeeeeeeeeee!" She hollered. Kisike's head fell to her right shoulder with swirly eyes.  
  
"Eeeeeeeh. . .NEVER!" She grimaced. Bridget sweatdropped. Amanda bashed Kisike over the head with Miroku's stick, which she'd somehow got away from him in the last ten seconds. "If you don't stop I'm gonna duct tape you to a wall!" Kisike yelled. Amanda kept hitting her over the head. Kisike yipped and caught the stick, then pulled out her duct tape out, smirking.  
  
A few minutes later, Amanda was duct taped, upside down, on the wall.  
*That night*  
Everyone was asleep. Except Bridget and Kisike, who sat outside. Bridget on the small porch of the inn and Kisike was sitting down on the ground a few feet away, leaning against a tree.  
  
"Did you like him, too?" Bridget asked suddenly. Kisike blinked at her, then shrugged.  
  
" I dunno. I just want his tail." She said, grinning. Bridget sighed and shook her head, then smiled.  
  
"You sure are weird sometimes." She said. Kisike grinned wider.  
  
"How can anyone not be weird with friends like you and those guys in there?" She asked, then tucked her hands behind her head. "Besides. . .I miss my own Fluffy." She sighed.  
  
" Oh, yeah." Bridget said. " Well. . .Maybe you'll talk to him when you get back on the other side?" Kisike shook her head.  
  
" My grandparents' computer is dead." She said, sighing. Bridget raised an eyebrow.  
  
". . .How do you know. . .you haven't even looked at it yet, have you?" She wondered. Kisike shrugged.  
  
"It's always broken." She said. "And it's not my fault! Stupid computer. . ." She grumbled. Bridget laughed.  
  
"You pushed buttons, didn't you?" She asked.  
  
"How can you /not/ push buttons on a computer?? THAT'S ALL THERE IS!!" Kisike hollered. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"Be quiet! Do you wanna wake everyone up??" She demanded. Kisike grinned.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
". . . .Do you wanna take over the planet?"  
  
"Yes!!"  
  
"Do you wanna be a controller??"  
  
"YE-! Waitaminute. . . . nice try." Kisike huffed, then stuck her tongue out at Bridget. "YOU just don't want your boyfriend to overhear the conversation." Kisike said, nodding. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"He's not my boyfriend."  
  
"Yet."  
  
"He's evil. . ."  
  
"Everyone is, at times."  
  
"He's probably a lot older than me."  
  
"Since when has that mattered!? Why are you worrying so much??" Kisike asked, stretching.  
  
"Because there's so much to worry about!!" Bridget yelled, then dropped her head on her forearms and sighed. Kisike blinked and jumped over to sit in front of the fairy demon.  
  
"Hey, he was stalking your house. He'd need /some/ sort of reason to be there, right?" Kisike asked, trying to cheer Bridget up.  
  
"I don't know." Bridget mumbled. "The reason I like him is because he seemed more. . .mature. . .than most guys I've met. More thoughtful about things. Even if we talked to him for only five to ten minutes. You know what I mean?" she asked quietly. Kisike sat back and thought for a minute.a few minutes. Bridget looked up and Kisike was asleep. She sweatdropped.  
  
"You're asleep...?" She asked. Kisike's eyes snapped open and she sat up.  
  
"Nope!" She grinned. "Okay. . .I was thinking. . .Maybe you need this guy's respect. . .we still don't know why he was staring at your house, which is pretty weird, but I think this guy fusses over honor and respect and junk a lot."  
  
Bridget blinked. "How do you know?" She asked.  
  
"I don't, but that's always the story!" Kisike grinned. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
". . .But I never said I liked him anyway!"  
  
"Yes you did. Let's go back inside and sleep, okie dokie?" Kisike said, barely hinting that someone else was there near them. Bridget sighed, nodded, then went inside. Kisike leapt up on the roof of the inn and sat down. She could tell someone was near, and from the smell of it, it wasn't Sesshoumaru. And if it wasn't Sesshoumaru, then it wasn't anyone she could annoy, yet. So she went to sleep.  
~~~~*Somewhere near the inn*~~~~  
Kouga stared at the inn, blinking. "Who were those two? Newbies to the village, I suppose." He said. He was hanging upside down from a tree. He was surprised when something hooted behind him, making him fall from the tree and onto his head. ". . .Ow!" he said. He looked up at the culprit, an owl.  
  
". . .Hoo." The owl said.  
  
". . .Stupid bird!" he yelled, jumping up and chasing the bird off.  
  
He stopped and ran back to the inn.  
  
". . .Now, as I was saying to myself. . ." he muttered. "One of those girls has cat ears. . .the other has fairy ears. . .but. . .what?" he pondered, confused. "Wasn't there a cat demon killed by Inuyasha like, four months ago?" He said. He clutched the sides of his head. "I'm confuuuused!" he yelled. He quickly covered his mouth and ducked down into the bushes.  
  
'I am a good spy, and am a good spy!' he thought, trying to convince himself.  
  
"Hi." A voice said behind him. He whirled around to be face to face with Inuyasha.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kouga hissed.  
  
"Like I said. Hi." Inuyasha said. "Why are you spying on us?"  
  
"Um. . .What? I was just over here collecting. . .um. . .acorns! Yeah, acorns!"  
  
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know wolves ate acorns."  
  
"Well they do!" Kouga said. He quickly racked his mind to change the subject. "I heard Kagome was dead." He blurted out.  
  
Inuyasha clenched his fists. "Yeah? What about it?" he growled.  
  
"Why did you let her die?!" Kouga demanded.  
  
Inuyasha grit his teeth. "I. . .I couldn't save her." He muttered.  
  
"What do you mean you couldn't save her hanyou?!"  
  
"Why don't you fight against Sesshoumaru and find out?!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Kouga was silent for a few moments. "Sesshoumaru killed her? Your brother?"  
  
"Yes! My brother, Sesshoumaru! All over a stupid sword!" Inuyasha shouted.  
  
They both fell silent and stared at the inn. "So who were those two?" Kouga asked.  
  
"Bridget, Raylin, and Amanda. Oh yeah, and Kisike too." Inuyasha said. "They came from another world or something."  
  
"Kagome's world?"  
  
"No. Not Kagome's world." Inuyasha replied. "We found them out in a clearing in the woods. How they got here, we're not really sure. Some kind of magic. . .something about a dimension star too."  
  
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "Dimension star? How long ago?"  
  
"Two nights ago I guess. . ." Inuyasha replied.  
  
"So that's what happened." Kouga muttered.  
  
"What what happened?!"  
  
"Two nights ago, I saw a complete contrast to the forest. It was some kind of city or something. . ."  
  
"Feeneh! Fee-hee-hee-hee-heeneh!" a familiar voice said behind him. A vein popped out on Inuyasha's forehead as Kisike began braiding his hair again.  
  
Kouga snickered.  
  
Inuyasha jumped away and glared at Kisike. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?!"  
  
"About five minutes. Raylin put a bet of how long I could be here unnoticed." Kisike said.  
  
Kouga stared at her. ". . .You're staying with this stupid mutt?" he questioned.  
  
"For a while. With some friends. I had to feed Pudge."  
  
". . .Who?"  
  
"The fish. It was sandwich day."  
  
"Sandwich day?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah!" Kisike sighed. "Every Saturday I give Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich. But today we didn't have any peanut butter. So my sister told me to make a tuna sandwich. I CAN'T GIVE PUDGE TUNA!!!" Kisike yelled. "Do you know what tuna is?" she whispered to the two.  
  
". . .Fish?" Kouga asked.  
  
"IIIT'S FISH! I CAN'T GIVE PUDGE A TUNA SANDWICH! I'D BE AN ABOMINATION! So I had to go to the store, get some peanut butter, because all we had, was STINKING TUNA!!!" Kisike yelled. She began hyperventilating.  
  
"Why is this so important?" Kouga asked.  
  
"Pudge controls the weather." Kisike said, calming down.  
  
"Oh." Kouga said. There was a long silence. "What's peanut butter?"  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!" Kisike yelled, taking out her switch comb. "Greasy socks!"  
  
Kouga and Inuyasha sweatdropped. ". . .See what I've been having to put up with?" Inuyasha sighed.  
  
Kouga blinked, then bent down since Kisike was slightly shorter than him. ". . . Tell me. Are you. . .happy?"  
  
Kisike opened her mouth as if she was going to the dentist to do a wide smile. "Ahhh." She quickly shut it and tried to look unhappy.  
  
"Uh. . .oookay. . ."  
  
"I get disciplined!"  
  
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "Disciplined?"  
  
"Sometimes five times a day! Yeah! And with bricks. . .!"  
  
"Bricks?"  
  
"In a pillow case. . ."  
  
Kouga looked up at Inuyasha. "What exactly has she been doing to you to give you the right to hurt her like that?!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Inuyasha yelled. He stomped over to Kisike. "Okay, I think that's enough sugar for you. GET LOST!" he yelled, kicking Kisike away and sending her flying over the inn.  
  
"NOT NICE!" Kisike yelled. She landed in front of a chimney. "Hey. . .Santa Claus. . .I'll just wait for him here!" She said. She paced around and then jumped off the roof. "NOPE! Not here yet. He is late. . .No more cookies for him."  
  
She stomped off into the inn. Inuyasha and Kouga watched her go. "Uh. . ."  
  
"Anyways, you should go. We don't need you hanging around us." Inuyasha said. "Go find your pack."  
  
"I'M CUTE! I'M FLUFFY!" They heard a yell from the inn.  
  
"QUIET 'SIKE!" they heard Amanda yell. There was a crash inside and then it fell quiet.  
  
Kouga sweatdropped. "Uh. . .that may be a good idea. . ." he said.  
  
"I LIKE FLUFFY! EAT DUCT TAPE!" they heard Kisike yell.  
  
"NOT THE DUCT TAPE! I'M TAKING THAT STUFF AWAY FROM YOU!"  
  
"YEAH?! WELL I'VE GOT MY SWITCH COMB TOO, YA KNOW!!!"  
  
"WELL I'VE GOT MY ATTACK DOG! WITH A BUILT IN FORCE FIELD!"  
  
"WELL I BROUGHT MY DINOSAUR! WHO EATS FORCE FIELD DOGS!"  
  
There was the sound of 'yieyieyieyieyie' from the inn.  
  
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP?!" they heard Raylin scream.  
  
There were several more crashes inside, then yells from everyone, then silence again.  
  
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I DON'T WANT TO FEEL UNWANTED!" Kisike yelled, now outside.  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"You've been saying that a lot lately." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I've had good reason to say it. . ." Kouga said, staring at the inn.  
  
"Yeah. . .At least you don't have to put up with them. . .at least for now. . ."  
  
"You trying to foreshadow or something?!"  
  
"I'm surprised you know what it means. I didn't know your vocabulary was that big." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I didn't know you knew the word 'vocabulary'." Kouga shot back.  
  
Inuyasha sighed. "Look, I can't argue tonight. I've got to get some rest. Some really powerful demon is after these girls that are with my group and I need to be ready to fight him or her. Now goodnight." Inuyasha said, turning away and walking back to the inn.  
  
Miroku was standing at the door. "Uh. . ." he said.  
  
"What?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
Miroku pointed to a demon ward pasted on the door. "That's to keep Kisike out of the inn, since she was the source of all the trouble a few minutes ago. You kinda can't go inside. . ."  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "That means the others can't go outside."  
  
Miroku thought over this new problem for a few seconds. "You know," he said, "That's a very good point." He said.  
  
Inuyasha hit him over the head. "Stupid." He said. He marched over to a tree and jumped onto a low branch. "Fine. I like sleeping outside more anyway." He muttered, sitting down.  
*the next morning*  
"Hiya!" Kisike yelled in Inuyasha's ear, hanging upside down from a tree branch.  
  
". . .OW! What are you, a monkey?!" Inuyasha yelled, awakening and clutching his ear.  
  
"I'm a kitty! How dare you call me a monkey! Thanks anyway though. But I'd rather be a Saiya-jin than a monkey. . ." Kisike said, beginning to ramble on and on about how Saiya-jins can go Super Saiya-jin and level two and three and four. . .  
  
"Say what?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Inuyasha! Kaede says it's time for breakfast!" Amanda called up to him. She glanced over at Kisike. "Oh yeah, you can come too." She added.  
  
Kisike twitched. "That. . .sounded like an afterthought." She said.  
  
"And who's saying it wasn't?" Amanda shot back. She pulled a piece of duct tape out of her hair. "Now I'm out of that duct tape, thanks to the others."  
  
". . .Traitors." Kisike said. She blinked. "Besides, I thought you guys were stuck inside."  
  
"We climbed out the back window, where Miroku forgot to put a demon ward." Amanda informed her. Kisike shook some snow out of her hair, jumped down, and grabbed a fistful of Amanda's shirt.  
  
"YOU MEAN I STAYED OUT HERE IN THE COLD GETTING SNOWED ON ALL NIGHT LONG WHILE I COULD HAVE CLIMBED BACK INSIDE?!"  
  
Amanda shrugged. "Hey, you brought it upon yourself." She said simply.  
  
"I am sorry Lady Kisike. I did not remember that it was snowing outside." Miroku said with his one handed prayer thingy.  
  
Kisike's eye twitched. "Goaway." She said. She tossed Amanda into a random tree and stomped off, shoving Miroku into a snow dune. . .thingy. . .  
  
"Hey! Somebody's here!" Raylin yelled, pointing to something.  
  
Kisike and the others went over. ". . .I thought I told you to leave." Inuyasha said, sweatdropping.  
  
Kouga blinked. "You did?"  
  
Inuyasha hit his head against a tree. "Dense!"  
  
"Poor tree. . .wait. That was Christopher. KEEP BASHING IT!" Kisike said. Some of the villagers stared at them, then walked away quickly. "Stop staring at me. Stop following me. Keep staring at me and I may do a trick. Like kill you." Kisike said.  
  
"Kisike, you are not killing anybody." Bridget sighed.  
  
"Aw, why not? That just takes all the fun out of this whole trip."  
  
"This isn't a trip, we never wanted to go." Amanda said.  
  
"Then why did you go?" Kisike challenged.  
  
"To look for you guys. Of course." Amanda replied.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "Of course."  
  
Kouga looked around at everybody. "Um. . .who are you?" Raylin asked.  
  
"I am Kouga! The wolf demon!" Kouga said proudly.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "There's a demon for everything. Great, more dogs."  
  
Kouga glared at her. "How dare you call me a dog!"  
  
"Well aren't wolves in the canine family?" Raylin challenged.  
  
"Ca. . .what?" Kouga said. He blinked. "Oh well! This is my new woman!" he said, putting a hand on Amanda's shoulder. Amanda twitched.  
  
"Kisike, duct tape?"  
  
"Of course." Kisike said, taking out the duct tape.  
*ten minutes later*  
Kisike and the others walked away from Kouga, who was duct taped to a tree. Kouga glared at them. "What? What are you staring at? It wasn't me. Somebody's throwin' stuff. . ." Kisike said.  
  
". . .Let me go! I am the wolf demon! I should not be stuck to a tree with this stupid spell scroll!" Kouga yelled.  
  
"Well you are. Besides, that's just your opinion." Kisike said.  
  
"It's not a spell scroll. It's duck tape." Miroku said.  
  
"DUCT TAPE! WITH A 'T'!" Kisike yelled.  
  
Miroku blinked. "Say what. . .?"  
  
Kisike sighed as she walked past Kouga. "I'LL GET YOU ALL! When. . .I. . .get. . .free. . ." Kouga yelled, struggling.  
  
"Don't rip it off! It hurts!" Shippou laughed as he followed the others out of the village.  
Author's note-*answering machine comes on* Hi guys. Evil what we did to Kouga, ne? Oh well. My fellow authors and I like to torture our characters. It's what we do. Anyways, this is Amanda. The others are. . .kinda busy. . . *sounds of fighting is in the background* *sighs* Yeah. . .they're trying to kill each other. . .again. . . Well, anyways, about the fanfic. We were surprised at how few reviews we got for our last chapter. Our first battle too. . .if it keeps up with this, we may have to discontinue this fanfic. But hey, if you're hoping for another fight, we have one in our next chapter! Just be sure to review this time, okay? *fighting in the background gets louder* Well, the fighting is getting close, so I'd better put the phone in a safe place. Don't forget, leave your reviews at the beep! Got to go. Bye! *beep sounds* 


	7. Phantom Snowstorm: Inuyasha vs Gabriel

Author's Note-Hey, look! New chapter. ^ ^ Anyways, like we said in the last chapter: If you want another battle, you got one. But STILL! We STILL don't own. . .like, anything yet. Including Inuyasha. Yep. But hey, we think we've found another Shikon shard. We are on our way to find it. About that question of the Lilo and Stitch quotes. . .I'll summarize the answer. We had a sleepover. Kisike made us watch Lilo and Stitch at least THREE times in one night. Then we wrote this chapter and the last. Yeah. . .doom on us. . . Oh, and don't worry. Everybody is still alive and we haven't killed each other. . .Yet. ^ ^;  
  
Kisike watched Inuyasha step on a flower accidentally. "You destroy everything you touch. Why don't you try making something. For once." Kisike said.  
  
Inuyasha sighed and stopped. The others stopped too, not really understanding what was going on. Inuyasha gathered some sticks, leaves, rocks, pinecones, and grass. Then after about five minutes, he had created a primitive big city. "Wow. San Francisco." Kisike said bluntly.  
  
Shippou stomped through the little city. "Rahhh!" he yelled. He chewed on a model horse. "Save meee!" he made the little person on the horse cry. He chewed on the person too.  
  
Everyone stared at Shippou. Shippou looked up innocently. "What?"  
  
". . .That was hard to make!" Inuyasha said.  
  
"Well sorry. You shouldn't make it so. . .um. . .unsturdy." He said.  
  
Inuyasha stared at him. "What?! All I had to use to make it was stuff lying around!" he yelled.  
  
"Oops. . ." Shippou said.  
  
"Uh. . .yeah. . .let's keep going." Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
They walked through the forest for about three hours. Afterwards, they decided to take a break by a stream. Bridget sat up in a tree, messing with a piece of ribbon that was in her pocket. Part of it was hanging down and Kisike was batting at it. Amanda was making a snow angel and Raylin was having a snowball fight with Shippou.  
  
Inuyasha sat off to the side, thinking, and Miroku was watching Raylin and Shippou.  
  
"Snooow!" Kisike cheered. She shivered. "Wait. . .snow is made of water. . .me not like water. . .Ahhhh!" she yelled high-pitched.  
  
Inuyasha winced at the high-pitched noise. "Can you keep quiet, brat?!" he yelled.  
  
"Stupid mutt. Shut up. Don't make me kill you like I did to the wall. . ." Kisike said.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "I am not a stupid mutt. Dogs are a lot better than cats, and you know it!"  
  
"Denial is not good for your health. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"Really. Though you really should stop muttering to yourself." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I'm having an intelligent conversation with the voices in my head. GO ANNOY YOUR OWN VOICES!" Kisike yelled.  
  
Inuyasha sighed and turned around, his back facing towards her. "I wiiin!" Kisike yelled, falling backwards. The wind picked up suddenly, but no one really noticed, since it was snowing and windy already. Amanda sat up suddenly, rubbing her cheek.  
  
"Ow.." She muttered. Kisike tilted her head and looked at her.  
  
"What?" She asked. Then pulled her ears down so the tips touched her cheeks, the snow was suddenly stinging.  
  
"I think a rock hit me in the face." Amanda said, standing up. Kisike leapt to her feet as Inuyasha ran over to them.  
  
"It's a demon." He growled.  
  
"And they've got some Shikon shards." Bridget said, walking over. Miroku, Shippou, and Raylin joined the group.  
  
"Is it just me, or has it gotten about 10 degrees colder in the last few seconds?" Raylin asked. Shippou jumped up on Inuyasha's back and burrowed into his hair, since it was warm and stuff. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
"I can't fight with a fox in my hair." Inuyasha sighed, prying Shippou away and handing him to Kisike. Shippou shivered and buried his face in Kisike's hair. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Oh sure! Give him to me!" She yelled. Inuyasha snorted and turned away, drawing Tetsiagga. Kisike sweatdropped. They stood in the snow for about ten minutes. Inuyasha's feet were close to turning blue, since he doesn't wear shoes. "..Are we there yet?" Kisike asked, ready to fall asleep. Shippou was snoring loudly, and probably drooling. Kisike sighed.  
  
". . .You've got drool in your hair, Kisike." Amanda said, pointing. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Thank you. . ." She ground out through clenched teeth. Shippou snorted and fell off Kisike's shoulder. ". . ." Kisike shrugged and brushed her hair back, then froze as sticky slobber covered her fingers. "That fox is going to die, come morning. . ." She hissed, shaking her hand frantically.  
  
"You just gonna leave him there?" Raylin asked, stepping back so no spit would reach her. Kisike sweatdropped as the wind picked up again, nearly knocking Raylin over. The drool froze on her pinky.  
  
"..EEEEEW! GETTIT OFF!" She yelled, waving her arm around even more. Amanda sweatdropped as she was whacked upside the head with Kisike's hand.  
  
"Watch it!" Amanda hollered. Kisike stopped and blinked as Amanda was lifted off the ground. "Um. . . . . . . . . . . . .Um?" Amanda cried. Kisike watched Amanda float about thirty feet into the air.  
  
"What. . .You better not spit on me!" Kisike yelled. Amanda sweatdropped. "GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!!" She shouted.  
  
Shippou blinked and sat up, awake now. "What. . ." He squeaked.  
  
Kisike blinked and yipped as her feet left the ground as well. Shippou jumped up and caught her thumb, and was pulled up beside Amanda with her. Bridget blinked up at them. "It must be the demon." She said, turning to Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha growled and jumped up to try to get to Amanda, but was knocked back into the snow, head first, by another gust of burning cold wind. Amanda winced and gasped. "Inuyasha!" She shouted.  
  
Kisike just blinked and tilted her head to the side, Shippou now curled up in her arms.  
  
A boy was in front of them, all of a sudden. He seemed to have been formed by a small swirl of snow that still spun around him. Amanda didn't know how she could tell it was a guy, because she could only see his back, but she figured it might just be the guy's scent or something.  
  
Kisike squeaked and Amanda glanced over at her. "What?"  
  
". . .I just realized something. . ." Kisike whispered.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked.  
  
" I'M AFRAID AH HEEEEEEIGHTS! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIYA!" Kisike yelled, squeezing Shippou till he squeaked. Inuyasha sweatdropped and stood up.  
  
The demon that had appeared was physically about his age, maybe older, with short white hair, and jagged silver bangs that nearly covered ice blue eyes. He was wearing a white kimono with the usual too-baggy pants, and silver toed black boots. The kimono had random clusters of snowflakes on it, some dark blue, some light blue. There were pale blue arm warmers on both of his arms, similar to Miroku's but with out a rosary. The boy had spiked armor reaching from the dark blue sash at his waist, curling over his shoulder to end in a slight curve. There was a sword tied to the left side of his belt. "Inuyasha." The boy said.  
  
Bridget stepped up to Inuyasha, Miroku and Raylin were behind him now. "He's got two jewel shards, one on each of his shoulders." Bridget whispered, a bit louder than she wanted to.  
  
The boy floated down to hover about a quarter inch above the snow. "I am Gabriel. The Angel of Death." He said, eyes closing slowly.  
  
Inuyasha and everyone else on the ground stared at him. Kisike exchanged glances with Amanda. She shook her head and leaned over. "Wasn't he in the bible or something? " She asked.  
  
Amanda nodded. "Then shouldn't he be the demon of death of something? Instead of snow?" She asked. Gabriel's eyebrow twitched as he heard them talking. Amanda shrugged, not noticing the muscles in the snow demon's back tensing. "Maybe that job was taken and he's in denial from being second rate." She suggested.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "Second rate?" She asked, skeptically. Amanda nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I hear the demons are really sulky when they don't get what they want. Some of them anyways. Maybe you could get his autograph."  
  
"Or maybe he's in denial!" Shippou piped up.  
  
"I already said that. . ." Amanda muttered, then sweatdropped as she was ignored and Shippou kept rambling.  
  
"Or maybe he didn't get his peanut butter sandwich." Shippou said. He grinned. Kisike giggled. "Or maybe-"  
  
"DO YOU MIND?!" Gabriel yelled, whipping around to glare at them. Kisike and Amanda and Shippou froze, sweatdrops trailing down the sides of their heads. Gabriel's glare darkened before he turned back, his now clenched fists un-clenched and Kisike and Shippou blinked as they felt a familiar pull once again.  
  
"Gravity works. . ." Kisike squeaked, before she and Shippou yelped and fell thirty feet into three foot deep snow.  
  
"Ow!" Shippou cried, head popping out of the snow bank.  
  
Kisike shook her head and glared at the Snow Demon. "You jerk! What was that for?!" She demanded, standing up and dusting the snow off her shirt and pants.  
  
"You shouldn't be disrespectful to your elders." Gabriel said simply, blue eyes half open now. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Great. Once I FINALLY get away from nagging parents, THIS guy comes along. Aiya." she sighed.  
  
"He's right, you know." Raylin said. Kisike glared at her.  
  
"SHUT UP!" she yelled.  
  
Amanda blinked down at everyone from her perch on. . .nothing. . . "Uhm. . .Am I special?" Her eyes got shiny all of a sudden. "I'm in distress! Save me, Inuyashaaaaa!" She cried, hugging herself. Inuyasha sweatdropped. Kisike sweatdropped too.  
  
"Oh yeah, you're special alright. . ." She muttered.  
  
Amanda blinked, then yelped as she fell to the ground. She landed head first, but all anyone could see were her legs waving around frantically in the air. Kisike fell over laughing.  
  
"Help me! I'm stuck!" Shippou cried. Kisike sweatdropped, grabbed his ponytail, and yanked him out of the snow. "Owww. . ."  
  
". . .Brat. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"Kisike, Shippou, stop fooling around!" Inuyasha said.  
  
"She hurt me!" Shippou whined.  
  
"Alright, fine, I am the demon of snow and ice. But that only gives me an advantage." Gabriel said. He closed his eyes again. "Listen up. You can either give me the Shikon shards or you can put up a fight and lose."  
  
"I think we'll put up a fight." Inuyasha said. He glanced at Kisike with a raised eyebrow. "Is this Pudge?"  
  
"Who?" Gabriel asked, blinking.  
  
"No! Pudge is a fish. He controls the weather." Kisike replied. Her eyes widened as realization hit her. "Wait! This guy is controlling the weather! Oh my god, he's not a fish! Lilo lied!"  
  
"I am not a fish and my name is not Pudge!" Gabriel shouted. "My name is Gabriel!"  
  
"The demon of death." Raylin said, just to annoy him.  
  
"No! I told you, I am Gabriel! Demon of snow and ice!"  
  
"And hail. Don't forget hail." Raylin added.  
  
"And hail. Wait. . .shut up! Are we going to fight or not?!"  
  
"I was merely politically correcting you. And yes, we are." Raylin said.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "Might I remind you that you can't fight?" he said.  
  
"Yeah. You don't exactly have your peashooter at the moment. Still." Kisike added.  
  
"I have something close enough." Raylin said. She took out the quiver that she had taken from the village and pulled out a bow and arrow.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Amanda asked, sweatdropping.  
  
"I borrowed it from the village." Raylin replied.  
  
"Borrowed. . .or stole?" Miroku questioned accusingly.  
  
"Enough of this chatter! I'm getting impatient!" Gabriel yelled, snow swirling around him.  
  
"Fine. I was beginning to feel the same way." Inuyasha said, unsheathing Tetsiagga.  
  
The snow around Gabriel gathered into his hand, forming into the shape of a sword and crystallizing to ice. "My sword, Yukitama, will freeze the blood into ice once it cuts the skin." He said.  
  
"I'll be sure not to get cut then." Inuyasha said.  
  
Gabriel smirked and twirled Yukitama in his hand, then charged and swiped at Inuyasha. Inuyasha jumped back and countered with Tetsiagga.  
  
Tetsiagga nicked Gabriel's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. Gabriel touched it and stared at the blood on his fingertips. You managed to draw blood. That's a first for a hanyou." He said.  
  
He threw the blood at Inuyasha. "Blood stars!" he yelled. The blood froze into sharp, spiked stars like Chinese stars. Inuyasha jumped out of the way, but the stars kept going towards Amanda. Amanda shut her eyes tightly and crossed her arms in front of her face.  
  
Miroku jumped in front of her, pulling his rosary off of his arm. "Purge!" he yelled. The stars were sucked into his air void. "You are safe now, Lady Amanda." He said. He lowered his hand and put the rosary back on.  
  
Amanda opened her eyes and uncrossed her arms. "Thanks," she said, "But what was that?"  
  
"I'll explain later." Miroku said.  
  
Gabriel suddenly disappeared, turned into snowflakes and scattered in the wind.  
  
"Yeah, and stay gone!" Shippou yelled.  
  
"Hold on Shippou. He's not gone yet." Inuyasha said. The snow suddenly reformed into Gabriel, a foot in front of Inuyasha. Gabriel punched him in the face. Inuyasha fell back slightly and dodged Yukitama. "That was a dirty trick." He muttered.  
  
"In case you didn't know," said Gabriel, "I am one with the snow. I can become snow and I can control it."  
  
"And hail!" Raylin said.  
  
"And hai-will you shut up?!"  
  
"No. She never shuts up." Kisike said, now playing with the ribbon Bridget had finally surrendered.  
  
Gabriel walked up to her and bent down to study her. Kisike finally blinked and looked up. "What? What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Are you that hanyou's sister? You both have the same ears." Gabriel said.  
  
Kisike twitched. Then she yelled, "I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RELATION TO THAT MUTT! He's a dog. I'm a cat. So we. Are not. Related!" she yelled. Then, calming down immediately, she asked suspiciously, "Why?"  
  
"No reason. Just wondering." Gabriel said casually. He turned back to Inuyasha. "Ready to give up yet?" he asked.  
  
"Not a chance." Inuyasha said.  
  
Raylin kneeled down in the snow, off to the side, aiming an arrow toward Gabriel. She let the arrow fly. It was meant to hit his heart, but it missed and hit his leg instead. Gabriel grimaced and yanked the arrow out of his leg.  
  
He glared at Raylin. "Stupid girl. . ." he muttered. Raylin stayed rooted to her spot for a moment, then screamed. The wound in Gabriel's leg immediately filled with snow and healed, the blood freezing.  
  
"Man, you should have just stayed out of it." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Run, Lady Raylin!" Miroku shouted.  
  
"She isn't going to get very far." Shippou said knowingly.  
  
"No, wait!" Bridget suddenly yelled. She ran over to Raylin and grabbed an arrow. She held it for a second. Suddenly the point of the arrow burst into flames.  
  
". . .Bridget? What is that?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I'm still trying to figure that out, but hurry up and shoot it at him!" Bridget yelled.  
  
Raylin nodded and quickly strung it. She took aim as Gabriel marched over to smite her. She fired. . .and hit his hand.  
  
The hand (which was his left hand) immediately melted. Gabriel clenched his teeth and growled. "You brat!" he yelled. His wrist flamed. "Now I'll have to wait until next winter for this hand to grow back!" he turned to Inuyasha. ". . .I'll be back." He separated into hundreds of snowflakes and scattered in the wind.  
  
A cut suddenly appeared on Inuyasha's arm. The snow slackened to a light fall. Inuyasha grimaced and grabbed his arm. "Inuyasha?! Are you okay?" Amanda asked, running over to him.  
  
Inuyasha slowly withdrew his hand to see it covered with frozen blood. He felt his arm begin to go numb.  
  
"Your blood! It's-"  
  
"I know. Frozen." Inuyasha said. "I think I was cut by Yukitama."  
  
"Frozen blood will kill you, you know that, right?" Raylin asked.  
  
"We need to get him to a doctor or something. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"Blooood. . ." Kisike said.  
  
". . .No blood."  
  
"Awww. . ."  
  
"I know a village nearby. It's a fairy village. I can't say that they're experts at medicine, but they trade with people around the world. They're bound to have some kind of cure for it." Miroku said.  
  
The wind immediately picked up, the snow beginning to fall harder. ". . .I think Gabriel heard you." Kisike said.  
  
"A blizzard. . ." Raylin commented.  
  
"It's cold. . ." Shippou whined.  
  
Inuyasha's knees suddenly gave way. He collapsed in the snow. "Inuyasha!" Amanda, cried, kneeling in the snow.  
  
"Amanda?" Inuyasha whispered.  
  
"Yes Inuyasha, it's me. You have to hang on until we get to the village." Amanda pleaded.  
  
"Just. . .get out of here. . .you all will freeze to death out here and I'll only slow you down. . ."  
  
"Inuyasha," Miroku said firmly, "Dying will not bring Lady Kagome back to life."  
  
"Shut up about Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, eyes shut tightly. "Just shut up!"  
  
"Well if you know that dying won't bring her back to life, maybe you should know that someone who cares about you just as much doesn't want you to die." Miroku said, glancing at Amanda.  
  
"At least try to hold on." Amanda said. There was silence for a moment. All that could be heard was the whistling of the wind. "Inuyasha?! Inuyasha?!" Amanda cried, thinking Inuyasha was dead.  
  
"I'll try. I'll try to hang on for. . ." Inuyasha started, falling silent and passing into unconsciousness.  
  
"He's unconscious." Shippou stated.  
  
Amanda picked up Inuyasha's limp body. ". . .I'll carry him," She said, "Just lead the way."  
  
"Alright, but it's going to be hard to find the village in the middle of this blizzard. It could be twice as long getting there." Miroku said.  
  
"Well, the sooner we get going, the sooner we'll get there." Raylin said.  
  
They started off.  
***  
"Inuyasha?" a voice called out. "Inuyasha!"  
  
"That voice. . .it's so familiar. . . ." Inuyasha thought. His eyes opened slowly and he saw that he was lying on a grassy hill. The sun was out, and there was a gentle breeze blowing. He closed his eyes again.  
  
"Inuyasha, will you wake up?!" the voice snapped.  
  
Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes and gasped. "K-Kagome?!" he cried, sitting up.  
  
"Of course it's me. Who did you think I was? I told you not to doze off again." Kagome scolded.  
  
Inuyasha stared, then grabbed her into a hug.  
  
"Inu. . .ya. . .sha. . .?" Kagome started. "What's wrong.?"  
  
"Kagome, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that I let Sesshoumaru-"  
  
"Sesshoumaru? What about Sesshoumaru?"  
  
Inuyasha held Kagome out at arm's length. "You. . .you don't. . .remember. . .? About how he killed you and-"  
  
". . .No more caffeine for you. Some dream. We haven't seen Sesshoumaru in months." Kagome said.  
  
"But. . ." Inuyasha started He frowned. "Wait." He stood up and ran up the hill. He came to a small field. The same field that battle with Sesshoumaru and Kagome's death had taken place. "Kagome, over here! See?! This is where you died." He called.  
  
"Die, Inuyasha!" Kikyo's voice suddenly rang out.  
  
Inuyasha turned, in shock, to see Kikyo and the arrow pierce his heart. He fell to the ground and felt a familiar weight fall on his back. Kagome.  
  
The sky darkened and snow began to fall. "Kagome. . ." he whispered. "Kagome!" he yelled.  
  
All that he got in reply was the whistling wind. . .and the mocking laughter of many demons.  
***  
"His body is as cold as ice. Are we almost there?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. I can't really tell." Miroku said.  
  
"Kagome. . ." Inuyasha muttered.  
  
A strong wind blew and a small man with fairy ears like Bridget's (only longer and oddly tinged green) appeared in front of them. He was as tall as a twelve year old, but his age said that he must have been around his late thirties. He had tousled brown hair with long bangs that hid his eyes. "Quite a blizzard out here. I'm Jim. Who are you and where are you off to? People aren't often out here in this weather. I was just coming back from a trade." He asked.  
  
"I'm Raylin, that's Shippou, Miroku, Amanda, Kisike, Bridget, and the hurt guy is Inuyasha. We need to get to a fairy village because he get cut by Yukitama, sword of Gabriel, the demon of snow, and we need an antidote."  
  
"We are near my village, which is probably the one you are looking for. Follow me." Jim said.  
  
Everybody glanced at each other and hesitated.  
  
"Oh, come on! I won't bite. Do you want the cure or not?" Jim asked.  
  
Everybody slowly followed, not entirely trusting the stranger. "You see, demons are treated equally in our village, if they wish to bring us no harm. Fairy villages are the only places you can seem to get peace between humans and other races such as demons. Demons especially, because our village is protected by a demon. She had a sister, but there is claim that she was killed by Inuyasha. But we'll be able to judge that rumor when he wakes, will we not?" Jim said.  
  
"Uh. . .I suppose. . ." Miroku said slowly, blinking.  
  
"WHYYY. . .are we carrying on pleasant conversation when we're in the middle of a snowstorm?" Kisike questioned.  
  
"It's better than arguing." Shippou said.  
  
". . .Arguing brings bloodshed."  
  
"And you WANT that?"  
  
Kisike closed her eyes and grinned. . .until she accidentally ran into a tree. "Ouch. . ." she whined.  
  
They came to a brass gate leading to the village.  
  
"Blooood. . ." Kisike said again. Everyone sighed.  
  
Jim stared at the three, then walked over to a small hut next to the gate. He knocked on the door. "Lady Morgan! Lady Morgan, we are in need of assistance!" he called.  
  
The door opened and a young woman of about sixteen with fairy ears, red chin-length hair, and bangs that nearly covered her eyes stepped out.  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on* Hi, guys. This is Raylin. Seeing how I am the only. . .sane. . .one here, I think it should be about my turn to mess around with the answering machine. *Kisike's voice in the background* You took it apart because you were bored a couple weeks ago! Give me that! Hey! *sounds of a struggle go on for about two minutes, then Raylin's voice comes back on* Yeah, well anyways, what do you think of the fanfic so far? Questions? Comments? *Amanda's voice in the background* This isn't a shampoo bottle, Raylin! *Raylin's voice yells at the others to shut up and let her talk, then comes back on* Anyways, my point is that you people need to start leaving reviews. I mean, come on! Gathering Shikon shards, trying to keep Kouga away from the electronics, and writing this story at the same time is hard work! The least you can do is leave a review! Please? By the way, we would like to thank Johanna Gen and co. for reviewing (they were our only reviewers for the past two chapters. . . *sniff* ). Well, I got to go now. We're starting to travel again and I got to keep the answering machine out of the hands of Kouga, for he will attempt to gnaw at it. Alright? Well, bye! And leave your message at the sound of the bee- *beep sounds* 


	8. Like a Lobster!

Author's note-Yay! We're getting reviews again! ^ ^ We'd like to thank Demon Ashika, Kois_Baka, and once again, Johanna Gen and co. But. . .we still don't have all the Shikon shards yet. In fact, we had to go back to the present time to take tests. . .eeevil tests. . .oh well. So, to be blunt, we don't own anything yet except for this fanfic and. . .other stuff. . .unimportant stuff, but no money. So read the fanfic, and please delete any thoughts of suing us, starting now. ^ ^;  
"Jim Acrift, back from your trading already?" The woman-Morgan-asked.  
  
"Yes. I found this bunch lost out in the snow. One of their companions is injured." Jim said.  
  
Morgan looked over at Inuyasha and glared. "Inuyasha. . ." she said angrily. "I refuse to save the demon that killed my sister." She said, her eyes flashing red.  
  
"Innocent until proven guilty, Lady Morgan." Jim said gently.  
  
Morgan straightened, then sighed in defeat. "Alright. Bring him inside." She said, walking back inside. The others followed, Shippou shutting the door behind them. "He looks poisoned. What happened to him?"  
  
"He got into a battle with Gabriel, the snow demon." Miroku said.  
  
Morgan looked over at him. "Miroku, I haven't seen you in these parts for quite some time." To Jim she said, "Jim, look up in the cabinet. It's a cut from Yukitama, and he needs fireroot right away." She watched as Jim walked over to a large oak cabinet.  
  
"You two know each other?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yes. Just about everyone comes to this village for trading. A few years ago, Miroku came here after getting into a fight with some demon. A few of the villagers brought him to me, since they think of me as the village doctor and he was at near death from loss of blood due to his injuries." Morgan said, taking the fireroot and dropping it into a boiling pot of water.  
  
She looked out the window. "It's no wonder this blizzard sprang up so suddenly. We haven't had one like this for some time. What did you seven do to anger him so?"  
  
"We melted his hand off. The left one." Amanda said as she looked around.  
  
"Lay your friend down there, where my patients usually lie." Morgan said, nodding towards a bed. "Twas foolish to melt his hand off. It will gain you nothing but enemies."  
  
Amanda laid Inuyasha down on the bed. "We didn't have much of a choice. . .Gabriel was trying to kill us for the Shikon shards." She said.  
  
"Shikon shards? You have those?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah. We have a few, but not too many." Shippou said, sitting on the table.  
  
Morgan dipped a cup in the boiling water, which was now a bright red. "Off my table." She ordered. Shippou sighed and jumped off. "Give this to your friend. He'll need to stay here overnight. I'll make some arrangements for a hotel in the village." Morgan said, handing the cup to Amanda. Amanda gave the drink to Inuyasha.  
  
"Okay, but you'll have to be careful. Gabriel may come back to finish Inuyasha off." Raylin said.  
  
Morgan closed her eyes. "And would that really be a bad thing. . .?" she muttered under her breath. To the others she said, "Of course. I will."  
  
Miroku opened the door and cold air burst in. "Come. We must let Inuyasha have his rest." He said. The others filed out of the door; all but Amanda. "Lady Amanda?" He asked.  
  
"I will stay here. . ."  
  
Miroku nodded and closed the door back behind him; Amanda stared at Inuyasha who lied unconscious on the bed. She walked over to the corner and took a seat in a near by chair. She watched him breathing calmly. "Look what kind of mess you have gotten yourself in to. . ." She whispered to herself. Her ears twitched slightly. She watched Morgan working across the room. Morgan quietly disappeared behind a curtain.  
  
***  
  
Shippou walked around the room that they had acquired by the kindness of the fairies from the village, the room was furnished with well fashioned accessories from the trade system that the fairies used. "I'm worried about Inuyasha. . ." Shippou said, sniffing in a jar full of unfamiliar food, he wrinkled his nose and put the lid back on it. Kisike was amusing herself with Raylin's hair, who batted away the hyper one's hands.  
  
"Will you stop that 'Sike ?!" Raylin hissed through her teeth, Kisike shrugged and went to go play/bother someone else.  
  
Bridget suddenly stiffened. "Something's wrong." She said tensely, looking out the window. The others looked out the window and, with no questions asked, ran out of the hotel, Bridget following.  
  
***  
  
Amanda got up and walked across the room, all along the walls were assortments of jars containing a number of things. She carefully picked up a jar and stared at it before placing it back down on the shelf once more, Morgan slipped back in to the room. "What are you doing?" Morgan snapped, Amanda jumped in to the air by the sudden sharpness of the woman's voice.  
  
"I was. . .just looking at the jars." Amanda said taking a few steps back, her elbow accidentally knocked off a jar on the counter. It fell off and hit the floor with a clatter, luckily it did not shatter. "I'm sorry. . ." Amanda said bending down to pick up the jar, Morgan bent down to do the same.  
  
Their hands touched, Amanda yelped and snatched her hands back. "Your hands. . .they are so cold like ice. . ." Amanda mumbled. Morgan sneered. "You're not Morgan." Amanda hissed, the windows and doors burst open and snow flooded in.  
  
The wind pulled back the curtain that Morgan had disappeared in earlier, inside was the real Morgan frozen in a block of ice with a face of pure horror etched on her features.  
  
"Gabriel. . ." Amanda hissed. Morgan began to laugh hysterically.  
  
"So you found out. . ." Snow and ice began to encircle her, the fake costume broke away to reveal Gabriel. Amanda growled in throat as her claws extended from her fingertips and her ears flattened against her head.  
  
Inuyasha moaned on the bed. "Inuyasha!" Amanda whispered. Gabriel lunged at the bed. "No you don't!" Amanda yelled, kicking Gabriel in the face.  
  
Gabriel dropped against the nearest wall with blood dribbling down his chin from his busted lip. Amanda grabbed Inuyasha from the bed as the room started to fill with snow.  
  
"You will not escape!" Gabriel boomed. Amanda ran through the door with Inuyasha in her arms.  
  
"Inuyasha, you have to wake up. . .I need you. . .please help me. . ." Amanda cried as the snow began to fall harder and the wind howled in fury. "I need to get to safety. . ." Amanda whispered. Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout.  
  
"Blood stars!" Gabriel yelled. Pain racked across and down Amanda's back. She cried out and stumbled a few steps. A new wave of attacks bombarded Amanda as she struggled to stay up. She crumbled to the ground. "Do you surrender?" Gabriel's voice boomed from around her. Amanda growled in her throat and leaned Inuyasha against a tree.  
  
Gabriel came out of the snow in front of her. He stared in to her eyes. "Give it up. . .you can never win. . ." Gabriel laughed menacingly. Amanda balled up one of her fists.  
  
" I. . .will. . .never surrender to the likes of you. . ." Amanda screamed. She lunged at one of his shoulders. Her claws racked across his chest and his shoulder.  
  
He growled and disappeared in a flurry of snow. "You can't find me can you?" His voice taunted from all around. Amanda smirked.  
  
"If you had a scent then I could smell you miles away. . .you coward." She said sarcastically. Gabriel appeared in front of her and punched her in the face. She fell back a few feet. 'At least he has his mind on me and not Inuyasha.' she thought. Gabriel laughed.  
  
"Are you scared?" Gabriel taunted.  
  
"Sure I'm scared. . .of your ugly face. . ." Amanda replied. Gabriel roared in fury. He ran at Amanda. He punched her so hard in the chest that all the air rushed out of her, she sagged but did not collapse. Amanda looked at Inuyasha through the corner of her eye. 'Inuyasha.' She thought.  
  
"You will pay!" Gabriel hissed, his sword Yukitama materializing in his hand. Amanda's face fell. "There is nothing to save you." He dipped his finger into the scores he had along his chest that she had made earlier. "Blood Stars." He yelled. Amanda crossed her arms in front of her and braced for the attack. Deep gashes showed brightly on her arms. A scratch oozed blood along her face.  
  
"That attack is starting to get really old. . ." Amanda mumbled. A flaming arrow whizzed past her and struck Gabriel in his left arm. It melted up to almost his elbow.  
  
"You went thinking that you were going to have all the fun, eh?" A voice said behind her. Amanda smirked.  
  
"Be my guest. . ." Amanda said tiredly. Her friends rushed past her. Raylin already had another fire-arrow strung on her bow.  
  
"Try aiming for his head, this time." Kisike muttered, nails extending as she stepped in front of Amanda, while Bridget stood in front of the injured Inuyasha. Raylin grinned and aimed the arrow, then let it fly. Gabriel smirked and stepped back. His hand shot out, palm to the arrow. A burst of new snowflakes and stinging winds to match, forced the arrow back. The arrow shattered into about twenty pieces while the flaming head dropped to the ground and sunk through the melting snow around it.  
  
Raylin grimaced and readied another arrow. Gabriel sneered.  
  
"Don't think I'll let you pull that again." He said, as the snow level in the hut reached Bridget's knees. Gabriel let out a short yell and the walls of the hut collapsed outward, snow spilling over the already white-blanketed ground. Amanda and the others yelped as the roof fell down on them. Gabriel was already floating outside of the racket, a small smile gracing his features. Kisike's head popped out of the roof first. She blinked, shook the snow off her head and looked around.  
  
". . .Uhm. . . .guys?" She asked. Amanda's head burst up next, then Inuyasha's, Bridget's, Miroku's, Shippou's and finally Raylin's. Raylin huffed and managed to squeeze her arms through her hole, and she pounded on the roof.  
  
"I'm stuck!" She yelled. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Way-to-go, Spock." She muttered. Raylin glared at her, then blinked as Miroku was suddenly standing on the roof in front of her. Miroku said nothing, but smiled and offered a hand to help her up. Raylin smiled back and took it. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"This is not the time to have a moment." She said. Then blinked back and forth from the standing Miroku, to the one whose head was poking out of the roof. She frowned as Raylin just got unstuck from the roof. Kisike shook her head.  
  
"Raylin! Watch it!" She yelled, then sweatdropped as 'Miroku' twisted Raylin's arm behind her back and held Yukitama's blade to her throat. Raylin winced and growled.  
  
"Dammit. . ." She muttered, then saw that Yukitama was attached to Gabriel's arm, where his arm had been cut off. She frowned, brain processing information. Bridget and the others were all standing on the roof now, glaring at the Snow Demon who held their friend captive. "Kisike. . ." Raylin mumbled, then she choked, as the blade was pressed closer to her skin. Her eyes darted to where the sword connected with Gabriel's arm, then back to Kisike. Kisike nodded.  
  
"Get one of those fire arrows, Bridget." Kisike whispered. Bridget nodded and picked up one of the arrows that Raylin had dropped. She concentrated for a moment, then the head of it burst into a bright flame. "When I say so, shoot it at him." Kisike said, low so Gabriel couldn't hear. Bridget sweatdropped.  
  
"I can't shoot a bow and arrow." She whispered harshly.  
  
"Just aim for him, you don't have to hit him. I've got a plan." Kisike muttered. Inuyasha snorted from his place next to Amanda, letting everyone know that he had awakened..  
  
"That's a first, I'm sure." He grumbled. Kisike shook her head, and as soon as Shippou jumped up onto Gabriel's back, pulling at his hair, she leapt up, nails fully extended and sharpened now. She sped towards the snow demon who was preoccupied with throwing a kitsune off his back and with one clean swipe, clipped Yukitama from Gabriel's arm. The sword de-materialized into snowflakes and shards of ice. Gabriel growled, dropped Raylin and already started materializing Yukitama again. Raylin slumped to the ground and coughed, then slid away to sit next to Bridget.  
  
Kisike spun on her heel, an energy sword forming around her fist. She swung the sword and sliced a few strands of Gabriel's hair, who was spinning as well, bringing Yukitama up to try and hit her stomach. Kisike flipped backwards, away from the icy blade, and pointed at Raylin. "Now!" She yelled. Raylin, with the arrow Bridget had fired up and her bow, shot the arrow to Gabriel's midsection as he turned to look at her. He narrowly dodged, knocking the arrow down and in half with Yukitama.  
  
Kisike grinned and brought her energy sword down on his left shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound, along with a good-sized shard of the Shikon Jewel. The blood pooled at his feet and the Shikon shard dropped into Kisike's palm.  
  
"Thanks." She grinned, jumping back a few feet. Gabriel grimaced and clutched his slowly healing wound. Kisike grin widened and she held her energy sword ready at her side. Gabriel glared out her.  
  
"I'll get you for this." He growled, slowly breaking down into snowflakes and ice. Kisike stuck her tongue out at the swirl of snowflakes, and then bounded over to Inuyasha and the others. Raylin sweatdropped.  
  
"Always gotta be so dramatic?" She asked. Kisike sweatdropped and scratched the back of her head after her energy sword disappeared. Amanda sighed and leaned over Inuyasha. Bridget handed her a bowl with a bright red liquid in it.  
  
"This is the fireroot stuff. It should heal his wound by morning." She said. Amanda nodded and helped Raylin carry Inuyasha to another hut. "Hopefully demon of snow, hail, or whatever will leave us alone for that long." Bridget muttered. Kisike huffed and jumped up into a tree with a blanket she'd 'borrowed' from Miroku who'd 'borrowed' it from one of the villagers. She settled against the trunks of the tree and started looking over the Shikon shard. Raylin looked up at her.  
  
"Gonna keep watch?" She asked waiting for everyone else to enter the hut before she did. Most if not all of the villagers had left during the fight so most all of the huts were vacant and well stocked. Kisike raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah. Until I fall asleep." She grinned. Raylin sweatdropped and shook her head, walking into the hut after Shippou. The home was separated into three rooms. Amanda lay Inuyasha down on a futon in the biggest, while everyone else sat in the other rooms. She sighed and gave the fireroot mixture to Inuyasha. She gasped when she saw his blue fingertips.  
  
"Inuyasha. . ." She whispered, then stared as the wound on the said demon's arm almost immediately closed up. She could see the now red fluid flowing through his pale veins, which stood out in contrast from the hanyou's pale skin. His finger's twitching with renewed feeling and flow of warm blood. Amanda smiled and lightly ran her fingertips over Inuyasha's forearm. Inuyasha's golden eyes slowly slid open and he cringed.  
  
"Tickles. . ." He mumbled, turning to look at the neko-jin beside him. Amanda smiled warmly again and sniffed. She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand then leaned over to draw Inuyasha into a tight hug. Inuyasha blinked, eyes widening. "What. . .Don't cry over me. . .!" He whispered. Amanda sat up and shook her head.  
  
"I was worried. . .so worried. . .I thought you were going to die. . ." She said, voice hitching. "I didn't want. . . I was scared you were going to leave me." She cried, burying her face in her hands. Inuyasha sighed and sat up, the feeling was almost completely back in his arm. He reached out and rested both hands on Amanda's shoulders.  
  
"I'm not gonna leave you. I promise." He said, and then brought Amanda into a warm embrace. Amanda blinked, then smiled and leaned against Inuyasha.  
  
"SAP!!!" a voice yelled from outside. Inuyasha and Amanda sweatdropped as they saw Kisike's face looking in through the window. "That is the ugliest thing I have ever saw. . ." she said, grinning.  
  
"Yessss." Shippou said.  
  
". . .You're supposed to say 'yeah'." Kisike said.  
  
"Oh. . .okay!" Shippou said. "YEAHHHH. . ."  
  
". . .Better."  
  
Inuyasha and Amanda blushed, then Inuyasha shoved Amanda away.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" he yelled.  
  
"About that incredibly SAPPY scene you two just put on."  
  
"Say WHAT?!" Inuyasha growled with that I'm-gonna-kill-you-sharp- toothed-big-fanged grin.  
  
"I said that you just put on a reeeeally SAPPY scene there."  
  
Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Why you. . ."  
  
"Ah just wish I had a camera with me!" Kisike said.  
  
"Come here you little brat!" Inuyasha yelled, chasing Kisike away from the hut.  
  
"Ahhh! Runaway!" Kisike yelled as Inuyasha put his hand on the door. Inuyasha opened the door, took a step out, and stumbled.  
  
Amanda grabbed his arm before he could fall. "Don't go chasing after her! You're still weak from that wound." She said. She looked up at Kisike homicidally. "I'll kill her. . ."  
  
"Ack! Nooo! My Precioussss. . ." Kisike said, jumping up on the roof.  
  
Everybody sweatdropped. "She's seen the Two Towers movie, hasn't she?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yep." Bridget sighed.  
  
"Um. . .Is anybody forgetting about Lady Morgan?" Miroku asked.  
  
"You mean everybody." Raylin corrected.  
  
". . .That's what I said."  
  
"No, you said anybody."  
  
"I did?"  
  
"I think that whole getting-stuck-in-the-snow thing froze your brain or something. Of course, if it did, you'd be dead. So then I wouldn't be saying this right now, so that kinda defeats the entire purpose of this conversation." Raylin said.  
  
"Okay then. SHUT UP!" Kisike yelled, hanging upside-down from the roof.  
  
"You seem to hang upside-down a lot. Like Ed. Somebody's been watching way too much Cowboy Bebop." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike blinked. "Ed ish cooool!" she said, falling from the roof and into a snow bank. ". . .Oops. Ouch. . ."  
  
". . ."  
  
". . .I'll go get Morgan out of that ice cube." Bridget said, walking out the door.  
  
"Oh yeah, and what are you going to do? Melt her out?" Inuyasha said sarcastically.  
  
"Actually, yeah."  
  
Inuyasha blinked.  
  
"Ah wanna helllp!" Kisike said, following. She and Bridget got to the ruins of the hut and stopped at the site of the frozen Morgan. "So really. How do you plan on getting her out?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Like I said. Melt her out." Bridget said, lying a hand against the ice. "I think I found out something."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"I think I'm able to light those arrows and stuff with ki. Spirit energy."  
  
"Like on DBZ?" Kisike asked skeptically.  
  
"I can't really find any other explanation. Unless I'm a fire demon like Akio, and I don't think I am." Bridget said, watching as the ice slowly began to melt.  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!" Kisike yelled. "No fair. . .how come you can do it and I can't?"  
  
"You can create an energy sword."  
  
"But that's it! You can probably form ki blasts and stuff!"  
  
Bridget looked over at her, then back up at the ice cube. "You know how back in our world, I meditate and stuff?"  
  
"Yeah. . .?" Kisike said slowly.  
  
"Well, forming ki takes finding your spirit energy and stuff, and meditating has helped." Bridget said. Kisike blinked.  
  
"Huh. Okiedokie then."  
  
They stood there for about ten minutes when finally the ice melted entirely. Morgan awoke when the ice had melted halfway but had kept silent.  
  
"Thank you. Gabriel is a difficult demon to defeat." She said when she was free.  
  
"He's not defeated, but he did leave." Bridget said.  
  
"That's the best you could do and all I ask." Morgan said.  
  
"Hey! Hey Bridget! Let's go check out the marketplace!" Kisike said, pulling Bridget back into the village.  
  
"Okay. See ya Morgan!" Bridget called.  
  
*in the marketplace*  
  
"You know what we need?" Kisike asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"New clothes. I mean, we've been wearing these things since we got here." Kisike said, tugging at one of her sleeves.  
  
"And some other stuff. We need something that can defend itself.that won't die. . .something sturdy. . ."  
  
"Like a lobster!"  
  
"No, no, Lilo! We have a dog door! Not a lobster door! We are getting a dog!" Bridget said, playing along. They looked at each other.  
  
"Lilo and Stitch." They said in unison.  
  
Kisike went over to a booth selling clothes. "I want thiiis. . ." Kisike said, picking up a fighting kimono like Inuyasha's. The pants were blue and the shirt was white.  
  
Bridget blinked. "Um. . .okay. . ." she said, walking over to her. She glanced over at the clerk. "How much is this?"  
  
"One thousand yen." The clerk said.  
  
"Uh. . ." Bridget glanced over at Kisike. ". . .How do you count yen into American dollars?"  
  
"Well, I think that Japanese magazine manga thingy I gave you was like, four dollars and it was like, 230 yen. . .I think 50 yen equals a dollar." Kisike said.  
  
"Kisike, that's twenty dollars! I've got. . ." Bridget trailed off as she searched her pockets. She pulled out a coin. ". . .A nickel."  
  
"I've got my Christmas money!" Kisike said, pulling out twenty dollars in ones. She handed it to the clerk.  
  
The clerk studied the money. Suddenly he pointed at the man on the dollar bill. "Who is this?"  
  
"Um. . .George Washington. . .?"  
  
The clerk studied the dollars for a moment, then handed them back to her. "Here. You want to give this to somebody for use, give it to the scribes in the booth a few booths down. Maybe they'll figure out what it is."  
  
"It's moneeey!" Kisike whined. "Haven't you ever been to America?!"  
  
"Kisike, this is the feudal era. America probably hasn't even been discovered yet." Bridget sighed.  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!" Kisike yelled, stomping off. Bridget ran after her to catch up.  
  
". . .You've been saying that a lot lately."  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!"  
  
"That's it. I'm deleting the anime movie trailer when I get back."  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!"  
  
". . .Kisike, people are beginning to stare. . ."  
  
"OH, THAT IS WHACK!"  
  
". . .Broken record. . ." Bridget muttered.  
  
Kisike's ears twitched and she suddenly grinned. "New York, New York. . .New York, New York. . .New York, New York. . ." She sang, mimicking the Delta commercial.  
  
Bridget sighed. "Come on. There's another booth over there selling clothes. Try not to make us look like idiots." She said, walking into a booth.  
  
"Okie! I will!" Kisike said cheerfully, Zim-walking into the booth.  
  
". . ." Bridget picked up what looked like a carbon copy of the outfit Kisike was looking at earlier.  
  
"Hey, Kisike, I found the outfit you wanted. For. . .um. . .nineteen dollars. . ." she said, looking at the price tag. ". . .That is, 50 yen really IS equal to a dollar. . ."  
  
"Oh, is that all?" Kisike said in a sarcastic tone. She grinned and walked over to the outfit. "Okie, let's get this!"  
  
"But. . .um. . .we don't have any yen." Bridget said.  
  
Somebody tapped her on the shoulder. They turned around to see a guy wearing a gray cloak. Kisike raised an eyebrow. "This Gandalf the Gray?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm Saruman the White." The man said sarcastically. Bridget and Kisike glanced at each other. The man sighed impatiently and grabbed Bridget's hand, opened it, and placed a small bag of yen in it. "It's 119 yen that equals a dollar. This is one hundred dollars worth of yen. Now give me your twenty dollars." He said.  
  
"How. . .how do you know about Lord of the Rings? And dollars?" Bridget asked as Kisike placed her twenty dollars in the guy's hand.  
  
"How does he know about whole freakin' America?" Kisike demanded.  
  
". . .Good point." Bridget said. She turned back to the guy. "How do you?"  
  
The man released her hand and disappeared back into the crowd. "That tale is for another day. . ." he said in an ominous, foreshadowing voice.  
  
"O.kay." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike began doing the Twilight Zone theme. "Dude. . .where's my car?" she said after a minute.  
  
"We don't have a car. We're not old enough to drive yet 'Sike."  
  
"I dun care! I want one. . .maybe a pink jaguar GXT. . ." Kisike said. She began rambling on about what she wanted her car to look like.  
  
Bridget sighed and picked up an outfit for herself. It looked like Inuyasha's, but it was dark green and the undershirt was black. She picked out two more outfits for Raylin and Amanda (both different colors), then bought them and walked out of the booth, Kisike following.  
  
"I'm hungry. . ." Kisike whined.  
  
"Do you really want me to have to repeat Raylin?"  
  
"Uh. . .no. . ."  
  
"Good. So don't make me."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
They walked back to the hut, where everyone was asleep. Kisike stretched and leapt up into her tree where the blanket still was. Bridget sighed and started back into the hut.  
  
"Make sure you let us know if anything's coming." Bridget said, then sweatdropped when she saw that Kisike had burrowed into the blanket and was already asleep. She sighed again, then went into the hut to get some sleep, herself.  
  
* in the other world *  
  
Bridget jerked to attention as she received her CNN update: She was asleep in a cramped house, if you could call it that, after a battle with the Demon of Snow and Hail and Ice, Gabriel. Her mom looked at her from over a bag of potato chips. They were grocery shopping.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked, then started rambling on about how she was never 'OK'. Bridget sighed, rolled her eyes then walked to the magazine isle, where there was a book on Japanese currency. She didn't see much else that might help in The Warring States Era, which her other part was stuck in, so she settled down on an empty shelf and started reading.  
  
***  
  
Kisike was just logging on to MSN Messenger when- CNN Breaking News: You're sleeping in a tree after a fight with some snow demon named Gabriel. Name sound familiar?' She blinked, then shook her head and moved the arrow over the 'Sign in' button, and clicked. Her boyfriend, Gabri, was online.  
  
You are now chatting with All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life."  
  
Kisike: HIIIIIIIIII! ^ ^ * huggles *  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life.": Hey ^ ^ * huggs *  
  
Kisike: Hey, Uhm. . .Have you been having any weird dreams, lately?  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life.":. . .You could say that. . .  
  
Kisike: ..Like what?  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life.": That I'm a snow demon. That some cat demon and her friends, one of which keeps telling me I'm the demon of hail, we're all in the Warring States Era of Japan.  
  
Kisike: o.O; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sorry about your arm. . .  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life." : Huh?  
  
Kisike: You're arm. . .you're left arm got burnt off, right?  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life.": ..Almost. . .Only up to my elbow. . .how'd you know. . .??  
  
Kisike: . . .And. . .the cat demon. . .that's me. . .well, one of them is. . .the shorter one I guess, haven't paid much attention to height. . .  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life." : . . .Uhm. . .huh?  
  
Kisike: . . .I was the one who cut that jewel shard out of your left shoulder and prolly trimmed your hair. . .  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life.": ..This's weird. . .  
  
Kisike: Got that right. I g2g, mum's yelling at me, Love you! ^ ^ * hugglehuggle *  
  
All Love Lost. . ."This is the end of a worthless life." : Love you too * huggs* See you soon ^ ^ * still has his real-world arm, at least *  
  
Kisike: ^ ^; Hopefully there'll be nomore bloodshed  
  
Kisike has signed off.  
  
* * *  
  
Amanda and Raylin met at the movies. They were both going to see Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.  
  
"Hey." They greeted each other at the same time. They bought tickets, popcorn, drinks, and sat in the theater in silence until the trailers started rolling across the big screen. When the opening credits of the movie were about to start, Amanda broke the silence with.  
  
" I can't believe you like a pervert."  
  
"WILL YOU SHUTUP!?"  
  
* In the Feudal Era *  
  
"Hey lady! Lady! LADY! LADYYYYYY!!" Kisike was awoken by a little girl, about five years old. She had big green eyes and long blue hair. She had pointed ears, which meant she was either an elf, or a demon. With their luck, it'd be a blood thirsty demon. Kisike smiled as she remembered she'd probably see Gabriel again, soon. She blinked as the little girl somehow appeared on her shoulders.  
  
"LADY!!" The girl screamed in her ear. Kisike twitched, and fell to the ground with swirly eyes.  
  
"What do you want, brat?" Kisike grumbled.  
  
"Don't call me that! My older brothers and sister calls me that! I'm Kouten and I'm five years old! Well, physically. . .but that's not the point! I'm demon of the Storms and the Rain, and I need some help." The girl said, hanging from the tree upside-down. Kisike stared at her as Inuyasha and the others ran out in case of trouble.  
  
"Who is this brat?" Raylin asked.  
  
"I'm not a brat!" Kouten whined. "Be stormy!" she ordered. A small storm cloud appeared over Raylin's head and began raining.  
  
". . ." Raylin moved but the storm cloud followed.  
  
"Hah! You've been punished! Now, be happy again!" The girl said cheerfully. The storm cloud disappeared.  
  
". . .That was not funny." Raylin said, soaking wet.  
  
"It was to me! I'm Kouten and I need your help!" Kouten said, flipping around the branch and making a perfect landing on the ground.  
  
"Help? What kind of help?" Amanda questioned cautiously.  
  
"Quest help!"  
  
". . .Quest help?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Quest help! Why not? Quests are fun if what you're looking for isn't something you're not going to get in trouble for if you don't have." Kouten said.  
  
". . .Why should we help you with a quest?"  
  
"Because if I don't have it, I'll get in big, big trouble for not having it! You see, to make it rain, like, reeeeally rain, I need the storm flute. But my older sister kinda took it. . .she's a rock demon. My brothers are the sun demon, Akio, and the snow demon, Gabriel. My cousins are the Thunder Brothers. . ." she began rambling on about the people in her family as Shippou began to edge away. Five minutes later, she said, "And my sister's name is Sekkai. She took my flute because she was tired of me wearing down her element.  
  
"But if I don't get it back, I won't be able to call on the harvest rains, and if I don't, mommy and daddy will get mad. Especially mommy. She's the earth demon, Ametsuchi, and my father is the sky demon, Kyuuten. But anyways, if I don't, then the crops won't grow and the people will die, and mommy doesn't want that."  
  
"Why don't you get it yourself?" Inuyasha snorted.  
  
"BECAUSE MY BIG SISTER IS STRONGER THAN MEEE!" Kouten whined, flailing her arms around. Everybody sweatdropped. "Sekkai can pound me into the ground. But I don't think she can to you. I watched you fight my brother, Gabriel, and knew that you can help me!" she said, immediately cheerful again.  
  
"You mean, you're not. . .mad. . .or anything?" Shippou asked.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About us burning Gabriel's arm off."  
  
"Oh that? That's okay! He was picking on me a few days ago anyway. He deserved it." Kouten said. She blinked and tilted her head. "You're kinda cute. What's your name?"  
  
"Um. . .Shippou. . ."  
  
"My name's Kouten!" Kouten said, smiling. "What kind of demon are you?"  
  
"A fox demon. . ." Shippou said.  
  
"You look kinda like a squirrel. . ." Kouten whispered. Shippou sweatdropped and sighed.  
  
"Can we at least have breakfast before we leave?" Kisike asked yawning. Kouten blinked at her.  
  
"Okiedokie! But you have to promise to help me!" Kouten said. Inuyasha snorted.  
  
"We ain't making any promises yet." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kouten pouted, but nodded. Then grinned as she made a storm cloud form over Inuyasha's head. "Be stormy!"  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped "GET THIS THING OFF ME!" He yelled.  
  
Kouten giggled and darted behind Kisike's legs, dragging Shippou with her. Kisike blinked and tried to turn and look at the little demons. But Kouten had attached herself to Kisike's pants leg and was giggling madly. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Okay. . .now I'm scared." She muttered, and then reached around to lift Shippou off the ground by the back of his shirt.  
  
"I didn't know you had a daughter in this dimension too," Bridget said. Kisike blinked.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" She hollered. Bridget grinned.  
  
"Well you have so many daughters in fanfics. . ." Raylin said. Kisike dropped Shippou and reached up to grab two handfuls of her hair.  
  
"THIS IS NOT A FANFIC! ARGH!" Kisike yelled.  
  
"Which makes it even weirder. . ." Raylin said, scratching her chin. Kisike growled, then leapt over everyone's heads and landed on the front step of the hut.  
  
"Dibs on the rice!" She grinned. Inuyasha sweatdropped and ran after her.  
  
"The ramen is mine!!" He yelled. Amanda and Raylin followed.  
  
"Dumplings! I call the dumplings!!" Shippou called, helping Kouten up from where she fell away from Kisike. They both grinned then sped into the house. Miroku and Bridget followed.  
  
*after breakfast*  
  
"I hear you're leaving." Morgan said to the Inuyasha and the others. Raylin nodded.  
  
"We're on a-"  
  
"Quest! They are on a quest!" Kouten squeaked cheerfully.  
  
"Just one thing before you go." Morgan said. She grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve. "Tell me. Did you really kill my sister? I remember we fought a powerful demon going by your name, and my sister died. But when I saw that you were defeated by Gabriel, I began to have doubts."  
  
Inuyasha stared at her for a few moments. "I never killed your sister. I've never even been in this area of Japan before." he said truthfully.  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was Naraku." Miroku said.  
  
"Naraku?"  
  
"He put the curse on my grandfather that was passed on to me. Remember?" Miroku asked, grabbing his rosary.  
  
"Yes, now I do." Morgan said. She grabbed a pack near the ruins of her hut.  
  
"Where are you going?" Bridget asked.  
  
Morgan smiled. "I'm going to go find that demon and have my revenge. Don't worry about me. I know that Naraku is powerful, and that he will be quite a match for me when I find him, but I have hope that I can win when I encounter him."  
  
"Why not come with us?"  
  
"Sorry, but I travel solo." Morgan said. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a locket, and tossed it to Bridget.  
  
Bridget caught it. "What's this. . .?" "Open it when you are in need of aid. Yell Banshee Wail to unleash its power. Use it well. . .Sister." Morgan said. Bridget was looking down at the locket and blinked, but then looked up.  
  
"Wait. . .what?!" she yelled, but when she looked up, Morgan was gone. Everyone blinked and looked around. There was an uneasy silence. Raylin shrugged and started out of the village. Amanda sweatdropped.  
  
"Do you have any idea of where you're going??" She asked. Raylin looked over her shoulder and sweatdropped as Kouten started walking in the opposite direction.  
  
"Guess not.." She muttered, then followed everyone else.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *gnawing sounds and yelling in the background is heard* *Bridget's voice in the background* Hey! Kouga! Give us back the answering machine and stop gnawing on it! *sounds of a struggle are heard; Bridget's voice comes on* Ew. . .wolf drool. . .Well. . .um. . .maybe Raylin should do the answering machine again. *tosses the slobbered-on phone to Raylin* *Raylin's voice comes on* Oh, thanks a lot! Well, we got another battle down. Did you expect us to actually know Gabriel in our dimension? But hey, we all just want to say 'thanks again for all the reviews'. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find a stream or something to wash my hands off. Then I'm going to go kill some people in my group. Please leave your review at the sound of the- *beep sounds* 


	9. You're so insensitive!

Author's Note-Well, here's the new chapter. We don't own Inuyasha yet, and I'm too tired to say something funny. But we'll find the Shikon shards, don't. . .worry. . . *falls asleep*  
  
** Two hours and a mile or so of walking, later **  
  
"Are we there yeeeeeeet??" Kouten whined, now seated on top of Inuyasha's shoulders. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"You should know, it's your house!" He grumbled. Kouten tweaked his ears.  
  
"It's actually my family's house, dummy!" She grinned, then winked at Shippou who was perched on Amanda's head. Shippou sweatdropped and half- grinned back, then turned away and gagged. Amanda twitched.  
  
"Don't you throw up on me!" she yelled. Shippou grinned.  
  
"Why not? You're hair could use some more vitamins!" He said. Amanda twitched again, then ripped the Kitsune off of her by his tail and threw him some where behind her. Kisike just happened to be walking there, and she fell backwards when she was knocked in the face with a flying fox. She and Shippou fell back to the ground with swirly eyes.  
  
"Eh. . ." Kisike sighed and sat up. Shippou jumped to sit on her head.  
  
"Let's goooo!" He grinned, pulling on her ears. Kisike sweatdropped and sighed again.  
  
"Alright. . .Alright. . .ALRIGHT!! STOP WITH THE YANKIN'!!!" Kisike yelled. Shippou nearly fell off of her. He sweatdropped and let go of her ears. Kisike huffed and started walking with the group again. After another uneventful hour of walking, they came upon a big stone temple. It resembled a shrine, but everything was made of stone. Amanda sweatdropped.  
  
"I'd hate to see how cold this place gets in the winter." She mumbled. Kouten grinned.  
  
"That's too bad, my brothers are probably here somewhere. /I'D/ hate to see you guys when it's winter here." She said, matter-of-factly. Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"Why'd you bring us here when there are enemies of ours here?!" He demanded. Kouten shrugged and hopped to the ground.  
  
"Because I need you guys to get my flute back!" She said. Raylin tilted her head to the side.  
  
"You COULD just have Gabriel cover the plains er whatever with snow, then have Akio melt it all. . ." She said. Kouten pouted.  
  
" I still need my flute. . ." She whined. "You'll help me, won't you, Shippou-Chan?" She asked with shiny eyes. Shippou sweatdropped.  
  
"Uhhh. . ." He started. Kouten's eyes filled with tears and she made a high-pitched whiney noise. Shippou started and sweatdropped again. "Uhm. . . I guess. . ." he said. Kouten squealed, then leapt up and tackled Shippou off of Kisike's head. She smiled and hugged him.  
  
"Thank you, Shippou-kun!!" She cried, nearly choking him. Shippou flushed and coughed. Inuyasha, Bridget, Raylin, Amanda, Miroku, and Kisike exchanged glances, then promptly fell over, laughing. Shippou glared at them.  
  
"Shut-up!" He yelled. Kouten let go of Shippou, and whipped around to glare daggers at the others.  
  
"Don't you make fun of my Shippou-Chan!" She hollered. No one seemed to hear her though, as they kept laughing. Kouten's eyes turned red, but only Bridget and Amanda noticed and stopped laughing. Miroku, Kisike and Inuyasha stopped next, but Raylin kept laughing her head off. Kouten walked up to Raylin, eyes glowing even brighter. "You. . .you. . .you!" Kouten stuttered, then burst out into tears. She hiccupped, then buried her face in her hands and ran off. Kisike and Amanda blinked after her while Shippou and Bridget glared at Raylin, who was trying to catch her breath.  
  
"You're so insensitive!" Shippou yelled, glancing worriedly after Kouten, who'd run into one of the stone temples.  
  
"Think you could've hurt her feelings anymore?" Amanda asked. Raylin snorted and sat up, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"The kid needs to get over herself." She said. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"She's not the only one." Kisike muttered. Raylin sweatdropped.  
  
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" She yelled. Kisike scooted back and sweatdropped.  
  
"Nothin'!" She cringed, hiding behind Inuyasha's hair.  
  
"Where Kouten go to. . .?" Shippou wondered out loud. Everyone got to their feet and looked around. "I know she went into a one of those temples. . .but that's it." Shippou said. Miroku looked toward the last building in the row.  
  
"I think she went in that one. . ." He said. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
"Sensing another ominous black cloud, monk?" She asked, starting towards the stone temples.  
  
"No. . ." Miroku sweatdropped and -.-'d.  
  
"Ahhh! Stop chasing meee!" they heard Kouten yell. They saw her running out of one of the temples and into the little front yard they were standing in, clutching a Stitch plushie.  
  
"Come back with my Stitch plushie!" Gabriel yelled, following. He stopped when he saw Kouten run behind Shippou and the others. "You. . ." he muttered. He looked down at Kouten. "Kouten. . .Kouten! Come out of hiding right now." He ordered.  
  
"Gabri!" Kisike squealed, glomping Gabriel.  
  
"What are you doing?! He's our enemy!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"She must be under some sort of spell!" Miroku said.  
  
"Nooo. . .this is Gabri. He's my boyfriend back in my world!" Kisike said, grinning.  
  
Gabriel sweatdropped. "Um. . .hi?"  
  
Raylin raised an eyebrow. "You're a real worlder?"  
  
"Well, actually, I'm originally a part of this world, but I kinda got stuck in your world. I live in Canada." He said.  
  
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Cana. . .what?"  
  
"Can what?" Shippou asked.  
  
"No. Canada. It's a territory. Across the ocean. Discovered by France." Raylin said.  
  
"Who's France?" Shippou asked.  
  
Gabriel sighed. "Don't bother trying to explain. I already tried explaining it to my siblings. They didn't get it."  
  
"Gabriel won't tell me who France is. I've been wanting to meet him for a long, long time, but he keeps saying it's not a person. But what else could it be?" Kouten asked.  
  
"Maybe it's a brick! Or maybe it's a walrus in a top hat! But no! It's something better than all of those things combined! It's a muffin!" Kisike said.  
  
". . .It's not a muffin." Gabriel said.  
  
"Oh really? Okay then." She said.  
  
"What's this?" Miroku asked, pointing to the Stitch plushie.  
  
Gabriel sweatdropped, snatched the plushie out of Kouten's arms, and hid it behind his back. "Uh. . .um. . .it's my attack dog! With a built in force field!"  
  
"And this is my dinosaur! Who eats force field dogs!" Raylin said, pointing to Inuyasha.  
  
"-.- I'm not a dino. . .thing. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
". . .Fine! Then this is my dinosaur! Who eats force field dogs!" Raylin repeated, picking up Shippou.  
  
"Hey, put him down!" Kouten cried, jumping up and down.  
  
"I'm a fox, heathen! Besides, you don't expect me to eat that, do you?!" Shippou demanded.  
  
"Bwahah." Raylin said.  
  
"Hey, no! That's Gabri's!" Kisike said.  
  
"He tried to KILL us. And now you're hugging him?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Um. . ." Kisike hugged Gabriel again. "Yes!" She looked down a Gabriel's left arm. "Again, sorry about your arm. . ."  
  
"Well, I still have it in the other world, so don't worry. . ." Gabriel said. He looked over at Raylin. "But YOU however. . .YOU are going to die."  
  
". . .Oh shoot. . ." Raylin said. She frowned. "Hey, wait. Didn't I meet you over MSN once?"  
  
"I'll bet it was when I found out something about you that I never would have found out if she wasn't there." Kisike said to Gabriel. She blinked. "Why is that? How come the only times I find out something new about you, somebody is there?"  
  
"Um. . .I don't know. . ."  
  
"I don't either." Kisike said. She blinked again. "Is this what you look like back in the other world?"  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"Oh well. I'm going to get to see you in a while anyway!" she said, grinning. "Cause I'm goin' to Canada! That, or we're all goin to hell! And I'm drivin the bus!"  
  
"I. . .really don't think so. . ." Miroku said, taking a step back.  
  
"Fear me. . ." Kisike said, laughing an Ayeka laugh.  
  
"Um. . .Kisike? Why would you ask Gabriel what he looked like if he's your boyfriend? Haven't you ever met him in person before?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No. . .I met him over MSN. Never seen him before." Kisike said, rubbing the back of her head.  
  
"Uh. . .So what now. . .?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"They came to help me get my flute back from Sekkai! Now put Shippou down!" Kouten said, still jumping up and down.  
  
"No way." Raylin teased.  
  
Shippou growled and bit her hand.  
  
"OW! STUPID SQUIRREL!"  
  
"I'm a fox!" Shippou yelled, turning into a pink balloon and chewing on her head.  
  
". . .Yes, you've made that clear by now." Raylin said bluntly.  
  
"Well. . .um. . .come on inside. There are, as you can see, four corridors to the temple. One is mine, one is Kouten's, one is Sekkai's, and the other is Akio's. The area in the middle is our parents' temple area." Gabriel said, walking into one of the corridors. The others followed.  
  
"We're in Kouten's corridor right now. . ." he said. He turned into another corridor. "Okay, here's mine." He said. The corridor was a definite contrast to Kouten's. Instead of candles, it had. . .  
  
"What is this?" Miroku questioned, staring at a light bulb.  
  
"It's called a light bulb. We have them back in our world." Gabriel said.  
  
"Yeah, they had this back in Kagome's world too." Inuyasha said.  
  
"So, did you bring any other technology into this world? Like guns?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No. Bringing guns into this world would cause too much destruction." Gabriel said.  
  
"And that's a bad thing. . .?" Kisike asked.  
  
"No. But my parents won't let me." He sighed.  
  
"I'm hungry. . ." Kisike whined.  
  
"You're ALWAYS hungry." Raylin sighed.  
  
"I am not!" Kisike hollered.  
  
"Well, you always say you are." Raylin shot back.  
  
"Gabri! She's being mean to meee!" Kisike whined.  
  
Gabriel glared over at Raylin. "Hey, I changed my mind about killing you. I won't do it. But don't make me UNCHANGE my mind."  
  
"Unchange?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Unchange." Gabriel confirmed.  
  
"These thingies are strange. . ." Shippou said, jumping up to touch one of the light bulbs.  
  
"Don't touch it! It's hot! Like. . .like. . .um. . .Akio's fire!" Kouten warned.  
  
"I doubt anything could be as hot as his fire. I mean, come on, have you actually felt it?" Inuyasha stated.  
  
"I LIVE with him. Sometimes. Don't think he's never gotten mad at me before. I think I would know." Kouten said. Shippou blinked at her.  
  
". . .Does he like. . .whaaaaaat? I'm confused!" Shippou wailed, clutching his hair. Kouten smiled and patted Shippou on the back.  
  
"It's okay, Shippou-Chan." She said. Shippou twitched and sweatdropped. Gabriel sweatdropped.  
  
". . .The dining hall is this way. . ." He started, walking away from the group.  
  
"Heeeeeeey! Wait for meeeeeeeeeee!" Kisike called, running after him. Amanda and Bridget sweatdropped. Inuyasha sighed and the group followed them down the corridor. About twenty minutes and three sets of stairs later, they came to large, gold-framed double doors.  
  
"Oooo. . ." Shippou blinked, appalled at the really big doors!  
  
"Those look familiar. . ." Bridget whispered to Kisike. Kisike blinked at her, and nodded slightly.  
  
"Just a little." She said. Gabriel pushed open one of the doors and let everyone else through first before closing it back again. The four long tables arranged in four rows were deck with food of all sorts. Shippou, Amanda and Kisike blinked. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and did a double take. Raylin sweatdropped.  
  
"Dear god." She muttered. Bridget shook her head.  
  
"How much do you people eat here??" She asked. Gabriel raised an eyebrow.  
  
"We were expecting you." He said. Bridget face-faulted.  
  
"Do you know how creepy that sounds??" She said, watching Kisike, Shippou and Amanda grab plates and filled them up with food. Inuyasha slowly made his way to a large bowl of ramen. Miroku grinned and started to work his way around the tables. Kouten followed close behind Shippou, who was sweatdropping and looking over his shoulder every twenty seconds.  
  
"Yup." Gabriel grinned, going over to one of the tables, the only one that wasn't fully over taken by numerous plates of food. He grabbed an already filled plate and sat down at one end of the table.  
  
"Yay! Dumplings! They heard Shippou yell from somewhere. They couldn't see him at all. Kouten sat down at the table, next to Gabriel, and started on a big piece of red velvet cake that nearly fell off the side of the plate. She grinned at Gabriel and chewed on a piece of the cake. Gabriel sighed.  
  
"MINE!" Kisike and Inuyasha yelled at the same time, Kisike was at the ramen bowl at the same time as Inuyasha, even though he'd already been walking towards it for about ten minutes, but he's a slow walker right now.  
  
"No, that's mine!" Inuyasha yelled, running beside to stand beside her.  
  
"Never! Eeeviiil!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Yes! Eeeviiil!" Kisike repeated.  
  
"Now, now, there's enough for the both of you." A voice said behind them. They both turned around to see a woman who was around seven feet tall and had long, light green hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a kimono with oak leaves on it. Behind her stood a man with blue eyes and long, white hair who was slightly taller.  
  
". . .Who are you guys?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"I am Kyuuten, demon of the skies." The man said.  
  
"I am Ametsuchi, demon of the earth. Now who might you two be?" the woman asked.  
  
Gabriel stood up. "Father, Mother! Um. . .these are my friends. A few of them have crossed the dimension star, and a few of them are from here." He said. He went around introducing everyone.  
  
"And why did you let them come here, to the temple of the weather and elements?" Kyuuten questioned.  
  
Kisike looked over at Kouten to see her shaking her head frantically. She blinked, realizing that Kouten didn't want her parents to find out she'd lost her flute. Kisike grabbed a chopstick and held it up to her ear like a telephone, hoping this would distract Gabriel's parents from their question. "Hello? Mr. Bubbles? Aliens are attacking my house. . ." She looked over at Akio, who was just entering the room. "Oh good, my dog found the chainsaw. . ."  
  
Kyuuten and Ametsuchi stared at her. Finally, Kyuuten asked, ". . .What's a chainsaw?"  
  
Gabriel sighed. "It is a tool that uses the other world magic. Electricity." He said.  
  
Akio grinned ear to ear when he saw Kisike. He ran up to her. "Hi, Candy Lady! Got anymore candy?!" He pulled out a wad of parchment. "This was that candy you gave me earlier. It lost its flavor a few hours ago." He said.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "Uh. . .longer lasting flavor. . .they weren't kidding. . ." she muttered. She looked up and sweatdropped again. "Well. . .uh. . ."  
  
"Go outside and get some chicle from a tree. That's basically what gum is." Raylin said. Akio grinned.  
  
"Okay!" he said. He skipped off.  
  
". . .Okay, that was strange." Kisike said.  
  
"Yep." Amanda said.  
  
*after dinner*  
  
Everyone except Kisike and Bridget went to sleep. Bridget sat out on the porch and Kisike went out to join her. Bridget was staring out into the forest. "He's following us." She said quietly.  
  
Kisike blinked. "Eh?"  
  
"Sesshoumaru. I've been able to hear him following us." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike blinked and looked towards the forest, able to see in the dark. "I think I see something. . .No wait, that's a tree branch. Never mind. I can smell him though." She said. She blinked. "Hey. What's that?" she asked.  
  
"Hm?" Bridget asked. Kisike pointed to a small light in the trees.  
  
"That. Over there." She said.  
  
Bridget peered into the trees. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Dunno. Let's go check it out. I doubt it's Sesshoumaru." Kisike said. She jumped off the porch and walked towards the forest.  
  
"Kisike, wait up! Don't you think we should get someone to come with us first? Or at least take a light with us!" Bridget asked, following.  
  
"No. It may be nothing. Besides, there's already a light right there. I'm going." Kisike said, not stopping. Bridget sighed and followed. They walked into the forest. "Hello? Is anybody there? Hello?" Kisike called. She sniffed. ". . .I smell a human out here. . ."  
  
"There must be a road nearby. . ." Bridget muttered.  
  
The light suddenly went out. They heard a scream. "Who's there?!" Bridget demanded. An evil laugh sounded out around them.  
  
"Good, more victims." A voice said.  
  
"Eh?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Kisike, behind you!" Bridget yelled. Kisike turned around and was enveloped in darkness.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* Hiyos! This is Kisike! Well, it's my turn to do the answering machine. . . *the others are heard yelling the background and looking for the answering machine* *Amanda's voice in the background* Hey, 'Sike! Have you seen the answering machine? *Kisike's voice* Nope! Haven't seen it! *lowers her voice slightly but still sounds hyper* Well. . .maybe it's not EXACTLY my turn, but if you leave a review and I don't reply (or at least not do another message thingy), then I'm probably dead. But leave a review anyway. Yeah. Weren't we evil to leave everybody at a cliffy? ^ ^ Oh, and about Sango? Don't worry about her at the moment. She just got locked in her movie star trailer and can't get out. ^ ^; Well, I've got to go now, because the others are starting to blame Kouga for gnawing it into oblivion, and I got to go help him. So review at the sound of the beep. Goodbye. *beep sounds* 


	10. Betrayal of a Comrade

Author's Note-YAAAY! IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY! ^_^; Ahem. This is the next chapter. We own nothing. Including Inuyasha. So no suing. Well, enjoy the chapter!  
  
Kisike struggled, but she felt like she was underwater. There was no air. She held her breath for as long as she could (J/N: Which is six min. . .right. . . *rolls eyes*), until she no longer could. Her mind swam when suddenly. . .  
  
***  
  
Gabriel slashed through the thick blackness with Yukitama. Kisike fell out of the darkness, gasping for air. "You okay. . .?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"Y-yeah. . .I think so. . ." Kisike said.  
  
Gabriel nodded, then looked up and glared. "Shisou! How dare you attempt to kill my friends!" he yelled angrily.  
  
A man dressed in black robes stepped out of the shadows. He had short, spiky black hair and black eyes. He was tall, thin, and pale. His face was gaunt. "Boy," He said quietly, "You're missing part of your arm."  
  
"Don't try to change the subject! These aren't just random travelers! These are my friends!"  
  
"Ah, yes, them. They have shards of the Shikon No Tama, or at least their friend does. Something I would not hesitate for anyone to get."  
  
"Well, you'll have to hesitate for me!" Gabriel said.  
  
"I'll kill you if it means getting those shards."  
  
"You can't exactly fight snow with darkness. It doesn't work that way, you know." Gabriel said.  
  
"Gabriel, who is that?" Bridget asked.  
  
"That's Shisou, my old Sensi, and the demon of shadows." Gabriel said.  
  
"Huh." Kisike said. She walked up to Shisou and poked his robes. ".This looks cool. Looks like it came from Hot Topic." She said.  
  
Shisou looked down at Kisike. "You really like it?"  
  
Kisike blinked. "Yeah."  
  
"Kisike, don't get close to him! Please don't!" Gabriel yelled. Kisike blinked and looked over at him.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Shisou grabbed her wrist. "Then let your dark nature be revealed." He said.  
  
"No. . .'Sike, pull away!" Gabriel yelled.  
  
Shisou released Kisike's wrist. Kisike's hand limply fell to her side. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung slightly open, a shocked expression. She was suddenly surrounded by a black updraft (as if she were powering up).  
  
"What's happening?!" Bridget demanded.  
  
"When Shisou tells a person's dark nature to be revealed. . .it's literal. Kisike is now evil, and she will be on his side and practically under his control." Gabriel said.  
  
The updraft slowed to a gentle breeze, then stopped. Kisike's eyes were blank, then was replaced by an evil gleam. Her clothes turned black. "Kisike," Shisou said, "I want you to take care of these two while I get the Shikon shards. Alright?" he said.  
  
Kisike looked over at Bridget and Gabriel, then smirked. "Yeah. Okay." She said.  
  
"Kisike, please snap out of it!" Gabriel cried.  
  
"What will it take to get her back on our side?" Bridget asked.  
  
"For Shisou to either die or simply take the spell off. Me, my brother, my sisters, and even my parents can't defeat him though because our powers are only elemental. Akio could perhaps defeat him on a lucky day, but he surely can't right now because his powers are weakest after sunset." Gabriel said. At that moment, Kisike ran forward, claws extended, to slash at him.  
  
Gabriel dodged. Bridget grabbed Kisike's hair, trying to get her to stop. Kisike growled and turned, slashing Bridget's arm. "Ow!" Bridget cried, letting go as five red streaks appeared on her arm. She clutched her arm.  
  
"Heh." Kisike said, jumping back and throwing some needles made of ki from her hair at Bridget (she calls it hair needles. . .you'll know what I'm talking about if you saw Ryoko fighting Zero in Tenchi Muyo. . .). Bridget ran behind a tree for a shield. The needles poked out a little from the back of the tree. "Feh." Kisike said. She formed energy sword and ran at the tree and sliced it in half.  
  
Bridget, using her fairy speed, ran out of the way of the falling tree. "'Sike, c'mon! Snap out of it!" she yelled.  
  
"What if I don't want to?" Kisike said, throwing more hair needles. Bridget jumped onto a tree branch.  
  
"Then I guess we have a problem."  
  
Gabriel snuck up behind Kisike and grabbed her wrist. "Bridget, go stop Shisou!" he yelled.  
  
"Ah! Grrr. . ." Kisike growled.  
  
Bridget looked over at him with a look that said, 'Are you crazy?! How am I supposed to stop him by myself?!' She then closed her eyes, shook her head, then opened her eyes again and nodded. "Okay, but be careful." She said. She jumped off the tree branch and started back to the temple.  
  
Kisike extended her claws and cut Gabriel's waist. "Ack!" Gabriel cried, jumping back. Kisike jumped forward and turned, throwing even more hair needles. Gabriel dissolved into snow and dodged them, then reformed off to the side. Bridget stopped to look back at the battle. "Oh no. . ." she said when she saw that Kisike had gotten away. She wanted to go back to help, but she needed to get to the temple to help the others. She didn't know what to do. . .  
  
"What are you doing?! Get going!" Gabriel shouted. Kisike formed her energy sword again and ran forward, slashing at Gabriel. Once again, Gabriel dissolved into snow and reformed on a tree branch. Kisike kept going, then turned to charge at Bridget and slashed at her. Bridget cried out and jumped over the sword. When she landed, she ran behind another tree.  
  
She took off the locket she was wearing and opened it. The locket became a sword, with Japanese and Celtic runes on the hilt. Bridget stared at it. Finally, she said, "Wow. Just like in fanfics."  
  
Kisike threw her hair needles at the tree. This time, they almost went all the way through.  
  
". . .Eep. . ." Bridget squeaked.  
  
". . .Alright. . ." Kisike said, slashing through the tree. Bridget quickly ran out of the way of the tree.  
  
Gabriel jumped down from the tree branch he was standing on and grabbed her wrist. "Kisike, please stop!" he pleaded.  
  
Kisike growled and glared. "Let go!" she ordered, bringing her hand up with another energy sword. Gabriel let go. Bridget started back for the temple.  
  
Kisike turned and threw the sword, aiming for Bridget's back. Bridget turned around and ducked. "Dammit." Kisike said. She ran after Bridget and threw a few hair needles at her. Bridget dodged.  
  
Kisike suddenly stopped and threw a few hair spikes at Bridget's knees, then more at her back. Bridget jumped onto another tree branch. Kisike jumped up and sliced the tree branch with her claws, then slashed Bridget's ankles. Bridget panicked and slashed at Kisike's hand, cutting it slightly.  
  
Kisike growled and dropped back to the ground, clutching her hand. Bridget looked surprised for a moment, not meaning to hurt Kisike. She took a small step forward. "Um. . .sorry?" she said. She started back to the temple.  
  
"You will be." Kisike said, standing up and starting to form a dark, red orb of energy between her hands.  
  
"No, 'Sike! Stop!" Gabriel yelled.  
  
Kisike smirked and held her hands out, the red beam shooting out and hitting Bridget. The blast hit Bridget in the small of her back. Her eyes widened as she cried out and fell forward. She rolled until she came to a stop. 'This. . .this is only supposed to happen in fanfics and stuff. . .' she thought weakly.  
  
Kisike blinked, then ran over to Bridget and shook her shoulders slightly. "OHMYGOD AREYOUALRIGHTWHATHAPPENEDI'MSOSORRY!" she yelled.  
  
"Not. . .really. . ." Bridget said weakly.  
  
"..Huuuuuuuuh?" Kisike asked.  
  
Gabriel blinked and walked over, confused. Kisike suddenly turned and rammed her claws into his stomach. Gabriel doubled over and fell to the ground. The snow began to swirl around him, beginning to heal the wound.  
  
"Don't think so." Kisike said, forming another energy sword in her hand.  
  
Bridget's hand found a spot of earth that was clear of snow and concentrated, summoning up magic to aid her. "No. . .I don't think so. . ." she said as roots sprang up and began to wrap around Kisike's ankles.  
  
"Ah!" Kisike yelled, cutting the roots with her energy sword, growling.  
  
". . .Okay. . .that. . .didn't work. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"Feh." Kisike said, beginning to form another dark, red orb in her hands that would surely kill Bridget this time.  
  
Gabriel grabbed Kisike's ankle. "Kisike, stop. . ."  
  
". . ." Kisike said as she looked down at him. "No thank you. I rather enjoy this." She said. She yanked her ankle away, then grinned and fired the red beam. . .at him. . .  
  
Right then Gabriel healed and rolled out of the way.  
  
"Damn." Kisike growled. She jumped back and threw some more hair needles at him.  
  
*five minutes after the beginning of the fight; In the temple*  
  
Shisou approached the sleeping Inuyasha. He saw the jewel shards in Inuyasha's tightly clenched hand. He glided a few feet closer, then reached down to pry the shards from his hand. At that moment, Inuyasha's eyes snapped open. He smirked and jumped up, surprising the demon of shadows.  
  
"What do you take me for, a fool?" Inuyasha asked. His smirk grew wider. "I think the only fool around here is you. I was able to smell you coming at least an hour ago, despite how much the snow covers up the smell."  
  
"So you're the hanyou. Inuyasha. Son of Inu-Youkai and brother of Sesshoumaru. To be honest, you don't look very tough." Shisou mused. "But then, appearances can be deceiving. . .don't you agree?" he said.  
  
"Huh?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
The shadows suddenly sprang up and bound his arms to his body, tighter than any rope, leaving his hands free. "I'll take those now, thank y-"  
  
"Miroku, Shippou, Akio! Wake up!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Miroku, Shippou, and Akio woke up and stood up. "Who is that?!" Miroku questioned.  
  
"That's Shisou, Gabriel's old sensei!" Akio cried.  
  
"Well, hello, Akio. You should leave while you still have the chance." Shisou said.  
  
"Nice try, but these are my friends! They gave me candy!" Akio said. Shippou, Miroku, and Inuyasha sweatdropped.  
  
"Then I suppose you will die with them." Shisou said. Shadows sprang up and wrapped around Akio's throat. Akio grabbed the shadows tightly, trying to pull them away as the shadow solidified to become as tight as rope.  
  
"Let. . .Go. . ." Akio said.  
  
"Inuyasha, grab Akio and pull him out of the way. I'm going to try to suck Shisou into my air void." Miroku said in a low voice to Inuyasha. Inuyasha's sweatdrop fell farther down his head.  
  
"Um, hello, but I'm kind tied up at the moment!" he said, beginning to struggle again.  
  
"Oh yeah." Miroku said. He turned to Shippou. "Then Shippou, you get Akio out of the way." He said.  
  
"Enough of this chit-chat! The Shikon shards will be mine!" Shisou said impatiently. Shadows rose up to wrap around Miroku and Shippou when Miroku pulled his rosary off his hand and whirled around.  
  
"Purge!"  
  
Shadow slowly sucked into his air void, but none of it was going away. Shisou smirked. "Fool. You can't suck shadows into a void. Of course, what more could I expect from a human?" he said.  
  
A flaming arrow pierced the darkness. "How about an elf?" Raylin asked in the doorway.  
  
"Raylin!" Shippou said.  
  
"And Amanda. Of course you can't see me because Miss Elf won't move out of the way." Amanda said behind her.  
  
"Like you can do anything? Elves are far more superior than demons, you know." Raylin said. With that statement, she got a growl from Inuyasha, Amanda, Shippou, and Shisou. Akio probably would have started growling too, but he was too busy suffocating to death right then. Miroku sweatdropped.  
  
"Say WHAT?!" Amanda yelled.  
  
"You heard me. Elves are much better than demons." Raylin repeated, not noticing all the glares-of-death she was getting.  
  
"Oh, yeah right!" Amanda shot back.  
  
"If I was free right now, I'd show you just how superior elves are to demons! By pounding you into the ground!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"Why thank you, but I don't need lessons to tell you that elves are better than demons." Raylin said.  
  
"-.- And this is our rescue party. . ." Miroku said.  
  
"Demons are much better than elves! Be stormy!" a voice said behind Raylin. A small rain cloud appeared over Raylin's head. Kouten sat on a little rain cloud behind them, pouting. Raylin's eye twitched.  
  
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME!" she yelled.  
  
"I think it's the perfect time!" Kouten scolded. She suddenly smiled when she looked over Raylin's shoulder to see Shippou. "SHIPPOU!" She squealed on a sudden sugar high that came out of nowhere. She flew past Raylin and over to Shippou, jumping off the cloud and hugging him/squeezing him to death.  
  
"Um. . .Kouten. . .this isn't a very good time. . .we're both kinda going to die hugging each other if you don't let go. . ." Shippou gasped as he began to turn blue.  
  
"Awww! How sweeeet!" Kouten squealed, not really hearing the death part at first. She suddenly blinked, then frowned. "Wait. . .What. . .?" she asked. She let go of swirly-eyed Shippou, letting him fall to the ground in a heap and yelled, "WHO DARES TO HURT MY SHIPPOU?!"  
  
Everybody sweatdropped, and tied up, being hugged, or just plain standing there, fell over. ". . .Baka girl. . ." Shisou muttered.  
  
"Lady Raylin, Lady Amanda, where is Lady Bridget and Lady Kisike?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Uh. . .dunno. . ." Raylin said. "I'll go find them! Be careful, Shippou!" Kouten said cheerfully. She hopped onto her rain cloud and flew out the door.  
  
*back at the battle; present time*  
  
"Be stormy!" A voice yelled. A little rain cloud appeared over Kisike's head and began raining.  
  
"Kouten, get out of here!" Gabriel yelled.  
  
". . ." Kisike said. She spun and threw a lot of hair needles while doing so.  
  
"But I thought you guys needed me. . ." Kouten whined. She looked around to see hair needles coming at her. "Eep!" she cried, hiding in her rain cloud.  
  
Gabriel grabbed Bridget and pulled her behind a tree. Kisike looked up at Kouten. "Stay out of this, brat." she said.  
  
"I'm not a brat." Kouten pouted.  
  
"Kouten, now!" Gabriel ordered.  
  
"Okay, okay. . ." Kouten sighed. "Be happy again." The little rain cloud over Kisike's head disappeared and Kouten flew back to the temple.  
  
"Someone has to keep you people under control. Geez. Five minutes and you're already fighting like dogs." a familiar voice said.  
  
"I heard that!" they heard Inuyasha yell from the temple. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
Shippou jumped out of the trees and onto Kisike's head. He pulled at her ears . "What's gotten into you? You're not normal!" He said. Kisike - -'d.  
  
Gabriel sighed. "Shippou. . .she's evil right now. Go back and tell the others."  
  
Raylin jumped up behind Shippou. "Yeah. Geez. Bet it's more mind control." she said.  
  
"EVIL?!" Shippou squeaked. He jumped off of Kisike's head and onto Raylin's face. "SAVE ME!"  
  
"ARGH!" Raylin cried. She peeled Shippou off her face and tossed him aside. "Baka ne."  
  
Shippou pouted. "Alright. . .alright. . . geez. . ." he said. He ran back to the temple.  
  
Just then, Inuyasha ran over. "Hey, you two alright?" he asked.  
  
"I think so. . ." Bridget started.  
  
"I guess. . ." Gabriel agreed.  
  
"What happened to Shisou?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Miroku is still trying to suck him into his air void back at his temple." Inuyasha replied.  
  
"You actually think that'll work?" Gabriel asked.  
  
Raylin looked over at Inuyasha. ". . .Speaking of which, shouldn't you be back there, helping? And what happened to those shadows that held you captive?"  
  
"Kouten distracted Shisou long enough for the shadows to loosen long enough for me to get free. And besides, Miroku said he'd be okay." Inuyasha said nonchalantly.  
  
"That doesn't matter. You should be there, in case something happens. If no one else is there, then no one else will know." Gabriel scolded.  
  
Raylin raised an eyebrow. "Besides, you actually believed him. . .well. . .Amanda and the others are there. . ."  
  
"Fine, fine. I'll go help him out." Inuyasha said, leaving.  
  
Raylin - -'d. "Feh...so what were you guys fighting about?" she asked.  
  
Bridget blinked at the sudden calm. "Well this is a definite contrast to what this place was like around five minutes ago. . ." she commented.  
  
Gabriel nodded in agreement.  
  
"Kisike isn't being very nice. . ." A voice said above them. Everybody looked up to see that the little rain demon had returned.  
  
". . .Okay. . .why is Kisike wearing all black? I didn't think there was black here. . ." Raylin asked.  
  
"Kisike called me a brat again. . ." Kouten continued.  
  
". . .That's nice. . ."  
  
"You are a brat." Kisike said.  
  
Kouten pouted. "I am not." She said.  
  
Gabriel ignored them both. "Shisou has Kisike under mind control. And seeing how he's the demon of shadows, it seems only right that she would wear black. Don't you agree?" he explained.  
  
". . .Uhhh. . .sure?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yes, we're sure." Bridget said.  
  
"Feh. Enough talk." Kisike said, extending her claws and running at Raylin, slashing at her.  
  
"Hey!" Raylin cried, jumping out of the way and behind a tree.  
  
Kisike turned and formed an energy sword. ". . ."  
  
". . .I'm guessing the tree won't do much help, will it. . .?" Raylin said.  
  
Bridget sprang up and ran up from behind. "Not so fast." Bridget said, putting her sword up to Kisike's throat.  
  
Kisike stopped and let her energy sword disappear. ". . ."  
  
"Eh. . ." Raylin started. She jumped back and onto the branch of a different tree that was a little bit further away. Silence then fell over the area. Raylin waited for something to happen. "Uh..." She waited. . .and waited... ". . .Should have brought my camera. . ." she said, - -'ing. She sweatdropped as she looked up to see that Shippou had returned and was sitting on her head.  
  
"Can what?" he asked.  
  
". . .Camera. . .a little box that takes pictures. . ." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "Kinda gettin off subject, aren't we?"  
  
"I didn't know that boxes could paint!" Shippou said, ignoring Kisike. "Or draw, for that matter. . ."  
  
". . .Well. . .they can." Raylin replied.  
  
"How does it do that without hands?"  
  
"You learn something new everyday. . .magic. . ." Raylin replied.  
  
"Oooo. . ."  
  
Raylin - -'d. "Yeeeeeeeah."  
  
Akio ran over to them. "Hey guys, what's going on? Shisou is attacking the temple!"  
  
"People are calling me a brat!" Kouten repeated.  
  
". . .Brat." Kisike said.  
  
"See?! Be stormy!"  
  
A rain cloud reappeared over Kisike's head and began raining again. Kisike sighed and - -'d.  
  
"Erm. . ." Shippou started. He hid behind a tree so that Kouten wouldn't see him.  
  
"These mind control battles never really last long, do they?" Raylin asked.  
  
"You noticed that too?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"Not really, but they do have a way of making fanfics go pointlessly on and on. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"It's also mostly used as a last resort. . .and for torturing people." Kisike said with a sidelong glance at Bridget.  
  
"What? It wasn't me who claimed that they could hold their breath for six minutes." Bridget said.  
  
"That was a long time ago...IN OUR FIRST FANFIC...which I now hate/despise/would smite if it were human." Kisike said. "MUST YOU FILE MEMORIES?! MUST YOU?!"  
  
"Don't worry. It was already deleted when my computer went boom." Bridget said.  
  
". . .Well. . .that's nice. . .wait. . .what?"  
  
"It did! Now all you have to do is take it off your account on Fanfiction.net!"  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "I'll do that. . . Now. . ." Kisike dropped to the ground and kicked the arm that Bridget was holding her sword with.  
  
"Ack!" Bridget dropped her sword and grabbed her arm. "Hey!"  
  
Kisike jumped up and aimed a punch for Bridget's nose. Bridget ducked, dodging the punch. Gabriel jumped in between the two. "Kisike! Stop! You don't have to do this!" he said.  
  
Kisike jumped back a little bit. "I have my orders."  
  
"Yeah, you have them, but you can choose not to listen."  
  
"..I /could/. . ."  
  
"But will you?" Gabriel asked, more to himself than anyone.  
  
"Uhm. . .can I just kill her first?" Kisike asked, pointing to Raylin.  
  
Raylin sweatdropped. "Hey! Why do you want to kill me?!"  
  
"'Cause you're annoying. . .and mean. . .and evil. . .wait. . .my head hurts..." Kisike said, beginning to pout.  
  
Raylin sweatdropped and - -'d.  
  
Silence fell over the area. "Bwahaha! No sound! Wait. . .I'll be quiet now. . ." the Silence said. (J/N: Don't ask. We were drawing a blank here when we wrote this. . .)  
  
Kisike blinked. "Well, that was interesting. . ."  
  
"Wait...if silence is quiet, then wouldn't it be noisy? Cause I mean, that'd make sense, right?" Raylin pondered.  
  
"I've never really heard silence make noise before. . ." Kouten agreed.  
  
"Brat." Kisike said.  
  
"She's being mean. . ." Kouten whimpered.  
  
Kisike grinned.  
  
". . .And that's something to be proud of? Wait. . .never mind. . ." Akio said, seeing Kisike's grin.  
  
". . .Huh?" Raylin asked. "I can assume that we've all stopped fighting now, right?"  
  
". . ." Kisike said.  
  
"I take that as a yes."  
  
"You shouldn't assume, you know." Kisike advised.  
  
"I can make a crack about that, but I don't think I will."  
  
"I agree. Remember, she wants to kill you." Gabriel reminded.  
  
"That's a good point. . ." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike grinned, then turned to stick her tongue out at Raylin and pull her eyelid down. "Neh!"  
  
"Hey! Don't flick me off!" Raylin yelled.  
  
Gabriel sweatdropped. "Can't you two just get along of once?" he asked.  
  
"Um...no?" Kisike replied.  
  
"-.- Didn't think so."  
  
Kisike grinned again and sweatdropped. "Sorry. . ."  
  
Inuyasha, who was tied again in shadow, flew back from the temple and slammed into a tree. He groaned.  
  
". . .Graceful. . ." Kisike commented. She sweatdropped. "I guess he lost."  
  
"Where's Miroku?" Raylin demanded.  
  
"He's still there...help me get free of this, will ya? They're still fighting over there." Inuyasha said.  
  
". . .He looks good in black. Let's leave him here for someone else to find." Kisike suggested.  
  
"I think not." Gabriel said firmly.  
  
Inuyasha twitched. "That's not funny. . ."  
  
"Dernit." Kisike said.  
  
Bridget walked up to Inuyasha and put her hand on the solidified shadow, charging up some ki and projecting some light. The shadow ropes disappeared.  
  
"...Can we go now?" Kisike asked impatiently.  
  
Raylin didn't need convincing. She was already halfway back to the temple.  
  
"All you need to fight shadows is light." Bridget said.  
  
"Yeah, thanks for the tip, but where do we get a lot of light?" Inuyasha asked. Raylin stopped.  
  
"We could set the temple on fire. . ." She suggested.  
  
"And hope they have insurance." Kisike added.  
  
"But think about this." Gabriel said. He started pacing. "You can't have shadow without light, correct?"  
  
". . .Yeah."  
  
"Yep." Raylin agreed.  
  
"So that also means you can't have light without shadow. . ." Gabriel continued.  
  
Kisike scratched her head. "Um. . .I don't know. . ." she said with swirly eyes and sweatdropping.  
  
"So we blow up the moon. That takes care of the light problem." Raylin said.  
  
"No way! If we blow up the moon, I'm human forever! Besides, how do you expect to blow up the moon?!" Inuyasha argued.  
  
". . .Duckies?" Kisike suggested randomly.  
  
"Hey, I watch Dragonball too. Somebody learn really quickly how to do the Kamehameha wave." Raylin said.  
  
"It's impossible. One can't exist without the other." Gabriel continued to muse, ignoring Inuyasha, Kisike, and Raylin.  
  
"Yeah...cause then it's all darkness or something." Kisike said.  
  
"Exactly. But then, when you make light, you're also making more shadows." Gabriel explained.  
  
"Yay! I got something right!" Kisike cheered, smiling.  
  
"Where are you going with this?" Raylin asked.  
  
"What I'm trying to say is that with light comes shadow, and vice versa. So, I'm thinking that you're going to have to think of some other way to defeat Shisou, besides with just light." Gabriel replied.  
  
". . .With darkness. . .?" Kisike suggested.  
  
"On Cardcaptors, the shadow card was defeated with lots of streetlights and the wind card...at least, I think it was. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"-.-; Now we just have to find a wind card." Kisike said.  
  
"Huh?" Gabriel asked, confused.  
  
"And Sakura. . .Cardcaptors ish an anime..."  
  
". . .Never mind, then. But we could just try chasing him out with light, can't we? I mean, he's not shadow itself. At least, I don't think he is. He's got a human form." Bridget said.  
  
"You could try that." Gabriel said.  
  
"If we chase him, he'll only come back." Kisike pointed out.  
  
"We need to chase him somewhere where he can be defeated. Otherwise, he'll just keep hiding in the shadows." Gabriel said.  
  
"How about lured? We could use the Shikon shards. It would probably be easier than chasing him, seeing how we don't have a flashlight or anything." Bridget said.  
  
". . .Mirrors?" Kisike suggested.  
  
"Of course, if you use the Shikon shards, you have to take into account what else you'll lure to yourself." Gabriel said.  
  
"Um. . .I can do it. . .since I'm still. . .kinda evil. . .ish. . .erm. . .yeah." Kisike volunteered.  
  
"Oh yeah, and how can we trust you again? Besides, if you get into a fight, you'll be in trouble. You're still just an amateur at this stuff and you used to be a weak human girl." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I am not. . .how dare you call me weak!" Kisike argued.  
  
". . .Well, it's true!"  
  
"Grrr. . ."  
  
"You're a cat demon. You aren't supposed to growl." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike sighed. "Fine." she said. She started to hiss instead.  
  
"Please, everyone! We kinda have bigger problems to think about right now." Gabriel said. He pointed to the temple.  
  
"But they're picking on me! Can I PLEASE kill her at least?" Kisike whined, pointing to Raylin.  
  
"You two are SUPPOSED to be friends, aren't you?" Gabriel demanded.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Well, she says we are, despite all her attempts to kill me." Raylin replied.  
  
"Can we all get along, just long enough for us to figure a few things out?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"That's up to 'Sike. She keeps leading us off the subject."  
  
"It is not! It's Inuyasha's!" Kisike said.  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Yes. Now be quiet. People like you better that way." Kisike shot back. To Gabriel, she said, "Find out whaaat?"  
  
". . ."  
  
"We have to figure out what to do to Shisou." Gabriel reminded, sweatdropping.  
  
"Didn't we already do that?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Not completely, no. Before, those were just ideas. We need a plan now."  
  
"Do we have to? I mean, just going in there and randomly attacking anything that moves is fun!"  
  
Gabriel - -'d.  
  
"Whaaat?" Kisike asked innocently.  
  
"Randomly attacking anything that moves?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"What if one of those THINGS happens to be a friend?"  
  
". . .Poor friend?"  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes.  
  
Gabriel shook his head, then threw his hands up. "I give up."  
  
"Don't give up!" Kisike said.  
  
"But. . .but you're impossible."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You can't just go and kill everything 'Sike. You have to at least make sure that you kill the RIGHT thing."  
  
"But that's not what Johnny does! I was thinking we could do it Johnny the Homicidal Maniac style."  
  
"Kisike, we're not trying to be homicidal. We're just trying to stop the bad guy." Inuyasha sighed.  
  
"Awww..." Kisike said.  
  
Gabriel's eye began to twitch.  
  
Kisike tilted her head. "What?"  
  
Gabriel shook his head. "Nothing. . ."  
  
"We could wait until morning. That's when his powers will be weakest, right?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm guessing he might hide during daylight. Seeing as, like you said, that's when his powers will be weakest."  
  
"Hm. . ."  
  
"Unless. . ."  
  
"Unless what?"  
  
"Kisike is still. . .sorta. . .under his power, right?" Gabriel asked, looking over at Kisike.  
  
"Huh?" Kisike asked.  
  
"I guess. . .why?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"She may be able to find out from him where he hides during the daylight." Gabriel said.  
  
"IF he hides. Of course, my guess could be wrong." Raylin said.  
  
"What do you mean 'if'. I'm sure he wouldn't stay around during the day. He would have no way to defend himself if trouble should arise."  
  
"Oh. Okay, I guess so. But we still need to get Miroku out! Who knows what's going on in there!"  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "You don't care about the others?"  
  
"Well, I guess. . .we should get them out too, I suppose."  
  
"Considerate, aren't ya?" Shippou asked.  
  
Raylin stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"As was suggested before, we could use the Shikon shards to lure him away from everyone, then get them all away from here." Gabriel said, trying to get back on the subject.  
  
"It's too risky. What if something goes wrong?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Dooom. . ." Kisike said ominously.  
  
"Yeah, I think Kisike is right. . .for once. . ." Raylin said.  
  
"What do you mean, 'for once'?!" Kisike demanded. She began to growl, then stopped, then sighed, and began to hiss.  
  
". . ."  
  
"What possibly CAN'T go wrong?" Gabriel said.  
  
"He could not get the shards!" Kisike said optimistically.  
  
"And, knowing our luck, he will." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Well aren't YOU optimistic."  
  
"I'm just saying that-"  
  
"No more talking!"  
  
"I-"  
  
"Quiet! Your evil nails-screeching-on-chalkboard voice hurts my eeears!"  
  
Inuyasha's eye began to twitch.  
  
"Gods, help me. . ." Gabriel sighed.  
  
Inuyasha blinked. "Wait. . .what's a chalkboard?"  
  
"Nothin! I ain't tellin'!"  
  
". . ."  
  
"Can we please just get on with it?" Gabriel demanded impatiently.  
  
"Sure! But are we just going to leave the shards somewhere or are we just going to let him chase someone? If he chases someone, who should he chase?" Kisike asked.  
  
"We're not leaving the shards alone, someone could easily take them that way."  
  
"We can have him chase Shippou!" Kisike said cheerfully.  
  
"Are you nuts?!" Shippou cried.  
  
"Someone who can run fast. Shippou is just a little kid and all he can do is turn into a big pink balloon and chew on people's heads." Raylin said.  
  
"-.- . . .I can do fox fire too, you know."  
  
". . .Inuyasha?" Gabriel started.  
  
"Have him chase me? Sure." Inuyasha finished.  
  
"What does everyone else think?"  
  
"I think Amanda would kill us all if she found out." Raylin said.  
  
"I think I'll help her! Wait. . .never mind...my brain hurts. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"But, you have to think about the fact that he CAN run fast and he can also defend himself if he were faced with the challenge." Gabriel pointed out, ignoring Kisike.  
  
"He can do it. I don't want to." Shippou said.  
  
"Yeah. Sure." Bridget agreed, staring over at the forest.  
  
"Someone should go with him. . .IF something should go wrong." Gabriel added.  
  
"Second fastest. . .?" Raylin asked.  
  
Everybody was silent and kept an eye out for crickets (J/N: . . .Don't ask. . .).  
  
"I'll go with him." Bridget finally volunteered.  
  
"Feh. If you can keep up with me." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I may not be the strongest or the most powerful, Inuyasha, but if I'm a fairy demon, then I should be pretty fast. You saw how fast the ordinary fairies were. Nearly as fast as you. If I'm a fairy DEMON, then I should be at least twice as fast." Bridget pointed out.  
  
"Bridget, are you sure you want to do this?" Gabriel asked.  
  
Bridget was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I'll do it."  
  
"It's your choice."  
  
"I said I'll do it. I'm probably the only one who can keep up with Inuyasha, aside from Kisike." Bridget repeated.  
  
Gabriel looked over at Bridget and Inuyasha. "Just lead him away until you think that we have everyone away."  
  
"Sure. Shouldn't be a problem." Inuyasha said. Bridget nodded in agreement.  
  
"Dooom. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"All there is to do now, is to figure out what we'll do when we have everyone away and he gets back." Gabriel said.  
  
"Doom?"  
  
"No doom." Raylin said.  
  
"Aw. Okay. We can hide out in the woods and play cards!" Kisike said. She thought for a moment. "Or we can kill anything that moves. . ."  
  
"Didn't we already shoot down that idea?"  
  
"Um. . ."  
  
"Yes." Gabriel replied. He turned to Bridget and Inuyasha. "Bridget? Inuyasha? Anytime you're ready." he said.  
  
"Okay." Inuyasha said. He walked up to the temple, Bridget following.  
  
"Meanwhile, we'll be where. . .? I mean, while he's running past. Or will he be too busy chasing them to notice us?" Raylin asked.  
  
"We'll be hiding in the woods playing cards!" Kisike said.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Hey, Shisou! I'm the one with the Shikon shards! If you want them, you have to catch me!" Inuyasha yelled outside the door.  
  
"What?!" Shisou yelled. He walked out of the temple.  
  
"I just hope everything works out okay. . ." Gabriel sighed.  
  
"It will, so long as 'Sike doesn't jinx us all with her habit of saying doom constantly." Raylin said.  
  
"...Doom?" Kisike said innocently.  
  
"You want these?" Inuyasha asked, holding up the pouch of Shikon shards. "Come and get them!" He ran into the forest, Bridget following.  
  
"Grrr...making it difficult, are they?" Shisou said. He ran after them.  
  
Gabriel watched them, then turned back to everyone. "We should also try to find a source of light that's not fire. . ." he said.  
  
"What about your light bulbs? We could lead him into a room and turn on the lights." Raylin suggested.  
  
"We have to make sure that we can have light everywhere in the room, though."  
  
"Did you make any flashlights?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Or not. . ." Raylin said. She sighed. "Anyone know how to do a Solar Flare?"  
  
Gabriel looked around. After a minute of silence, he said, "I'm guessing that's a 'no'."  
  
Raylin turned to Akio. "Can you help? I mean, you ARE the sun demon." she asked.  
  
"Not really. At least, not until sunrise." Akio said.  
  
"Darn. Okay, then."  
  
"Hmmm..." Gabriel said, thinking.  
  
". . .I still say we set the place on fire and hope you guys have insurance. . ."  
  
"What? We're not setting the place on fire." Akio said.  
  
"I'm not getting involved in anything that has to do with fire..." Gabriel said, thinking of the flaming arrows.  
  
"Okay, okay, but I can't really think of anything else." Raylin said.  
  
"Shouldn't we check if the others are alright?" Shippou asked.  
  
"Uh, you're right." Gabriel said.  
  
"I'll go check on them!" Kouten volunteered, flying inside.  
  
"I've got to check and see if Miroku's alright!" Raylin said, following.  
  
"Whyyyyyy?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Can't you just let her go without asking questions?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"What's up with her?" Shippou asked.  
  
Kisike grinned and sweatdropped at Gabriel's question. "What's up with who?" she asked.  
  
"Raylin. Why does she want to check if Miroku is alright?"  
  
"Um. . .she likes him. . .?" Kisike replied.  
  
"She does? Why?"  
  
". . .Honestly I have no idea. . ." They heard screams from Raylin and Kouten inside the temple.  
  
"What the?!" Akio cried.  
  
"Hurry! To the temple!" Gabriel said, running to the temple. Shippou and Kisike followed.  
  
Gabriel opened the door and they saw Raylin and Kouten tied in shadow, along with the others, who were unconscious. "Don't come in! We...kinda...figured...that...out the hard way..." Kouten said sheepishly.  
  
"Shisou must have been prepared for this! Darn it!" Akio cried. Shadows suddenly sprang forth and wrapped around the four.  
  
"Not good. Definitely not good." Gabriel said.  
  
***  
  
"Bridget! Stay away from the road, okay?" Inuyasha said to Bridget.  
  
"Yeah! Don't worry, I will!" Bridget replied.  
  
They ran for ten minutes. Bridget stopped for a second and looked behind her. "I think we lost him, Inuyasha." she said.  
  
Inuyasha grabbed her arm and continued running. "Rule one for running for your life: Don't stop. Rule two: Don't look behind you." he scolded.  
  
"Sorry. . .You can tell that I don't exactly do this often." Bridget said.  
  
"Feh. . .I'm sure you don't." At that moment, Shisou teleported in front of them. Inuyasha and Bridget skidded to a stop. "Rule three. . .know if the person you're running from can teleport. . ." Inuyasha said. He pulled out the Tetsusaiga. It didn't transform. "What. . .?" he asked.  
  
"Why...why didn't it transform like it usually did?" Bridget asked.  
  
"It only transforms when trying to protect humans. . .you're only half human, half demon, so it won't transform." Inuyasha explained.  
  
"Then we're in big trouble."  
  
"Yeah." Inuyasha said as he watched the shadows surround them.  
  
"End of the line, hanyous. I'm sure you're both wondering how you could be so stupid." Shisou said.  
  
Bridget charged up a small ball of ki and threw it at the shadow barrier around them. It made a small hole about the size of her head, then grew back to shadow. She took a step back.  
  
"Your light will not work now. It is all over." Shisou told her.  
  
"Bridget, you still have your sword, right?" Inuyasha whispered to Bridget.  
  
"Yeah. . ." Bridget said, holding up her sword.  
  
"Try to kill him with that." Inuyasha told her.  
  
"Okay. . .I'll try. . ." Bridget said. She ran at Shisou, ready to slash at him, when shadow suddenly wrapped around her wrist.  
  
"Foolish child. You believe that a sword can kill me?" Shisou said as the shadow lifted Bridget around three feet into the air.  
"Um. . .past tense, BELIEVED, yeah. . .and my arm feels like it's being pulled from it's socket..." Bridget said. She charged some ki up in her hand, just enough to emit a small bit of light. The shadow became translucent but stayed solid. "Let go!"  
  
"My power has increased since the gain of the two Shikon shards that came into my possession a while ago. You cannot escape." Shisou said.  
  
"Hey! Let her go! I'm the one you're after!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"Yes, you are, aren't you? You're the holder of the Shikon shards."  
  
"That's right! So let her go!"  
  
The shadow crept down Bridget's arm and around her throat. "I don't think so. You are both obstacles that I intend to get rid of." Another shadow shot out and wrapped around Inuyasha. "Obstacles that I intend to get rid of. . .right now."  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *Bridget's voice* Can't really talk right now! We went to the present to catch up on schoolwork and we're going to be late. So just. . .um. . .review, and we'll sneak onto the internet at school and look, okay? ^ ^; *Raylin's voice in the background* Why do we have to babysit this wolf demon? *Kouga's voice in the background* It's not babysitting! I can get along just fine at this human school. *Bridget's voice* Yeah. . .you can tell that it's gonna be a long day today. So, got to go! And please review at the sound of the beep! Bye! *beeps sounds* 


	11. The Unexpected Challenge On Ice

Author's Note-Here's the next chapter. In this chapter, it says that Inuyasha can't swim. Don't think that's true, but who cares? Don't tell us if he can or not in a review; it works this way and besides, we've already written ahead. Anyways. . .still don't own anything. Had to beat a substitute teacher over the head with my backpack because he was really a demon in disguise with a Shikon shard. Had to keep Kouga from eating the toxic food in the cafeteria and his pencil. It's been a long day. So no suing. Please. Enjoy the fic.  
  
"-.- . . .I am seriously hoping you had a back up plan for this, Gabri." Kisike said.  
  
"Erm. . ." Gabriel started, thinking.  
  
"You know you do, deep down in your heart!"  
  
"Deep down in baloney?" Shippou asked.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
". . . . . . . . . . . .Well that's just dumb." Akio said.  
  
"Dumb like a moose, Dib! Dumb like a moose!"  
  
"What's a moose?"  
  
". . .It's a horse with horns that's going to eat you if you all don't be quiet." Gabriel replied. He frowned as he went back into deep thought.  
  
"Ooooh. . .fun. . ." Kisike said. There were a few moments of silence. Then, "I told you we should have done this Johnny-style."  
  
"Oh, shut up!"  
  
"Nope. Doom." Kisike said.  
  
"Shippou, you can transform! Try transforming into a light bulb!" Gabriel instructed.  
  
"O. . .kay. . ." Shippou said. He transformed into a light bulb. It was a pink light bulb, but it was a light bulb. The shadow became translucent but stayed solid.  
  
"Shisou's magic is stronger. . ." Akio started.  
  
"Does that mean he has Inuyasha's Shikon shards?" Gabriel muttered, mainly to himself. His eyes widened as a small bit of fire was tossed into the room. "Oh gods. . ."  
  
The fire began to spread, slowly but surely, and surround them. "Won't you melt?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yes. . ." Gabriel said, looking pale.  
  
"Be stormy!" Kouten said. A small rain cloud appeared over some of the fire. It put out the fire there, but there was still a lot more left.  
  
"-.- Oh yeah, that helped." Raylin said sarcastically.  
  
"If only I had my flute. . ." Kouten pouted.  
  
They heard a cough. They all turned to Miroku as he opened his eyes. Miroku looked up, then blinked and looked around. ". . .Well this is not good. . ." he said.  
  
"Yes it issss! No, wait. . .never mind. My brain hurts again." Kisike whined.  
  
Shippou changed back but was still tied in shadow.  
  
"Shisou obviously anticipated all this. . .of course, why wouldn't he? He was my sensei, he knew how I'd react to all this. . ." Gabriel muttered to himself.  
  
"Can you use Yukitama to cut the shadow?" Kisike asked him.  
  
"No. It's too warm in here, to say the least."  
  
"Well, can you change into snow and get out of here? I'm sure the rest of us could find a way out of here, since we're completely flesh and bone, but you'll melt for sure." Kisike said.  
  
"No. Not in here."  
  
"Well, that's just dumb like a moose."  
  
". . ."  
  
"Foxfire!" Shippou yelled, sending his blue flames to counter the bright orange ones. The fire only worsened. "It's no use. Miroku, maybe you can use your air void and suck up the fire." he suggested.  
  
"I would if I could, but I can't get my hand free." Miroku said.  
  
"And all hope is lost. . ." Raylin sighed.  
  
". . .Thanks a lot." a voice muttered. Raylin looked down to see Amanda waking up.  
  
"Well, well, looks like the beauty sleep didn't help any." Raylin said.  
  
Amanda coughed from smoke inhalation. "There's. . .there's a fire in here. . ." she coughed.  
  
"What's wrong with Gabriel?" Kouten asked.  
  
Akio looked over at Gabriel, who was limp. "Oh no! Gabriel! Gabriel!" he cried.  
  
"He's unconscious." Raylin inspected.  
  
"Gabriiii. . ." Kisike cried.  
  
"I've had enough." Akio said angrily.  
  
"Akio. . .don't. . .don't do it. . .the sunfire technique. . .it'll leave you nearly dead if it doesn't kill you. . ." Gabriel whispered weakly.  
  
"So he's still awake after all." Raylin said.  
  
"I have to." Akio said. Fire began to creep up his body until he was all ablaze. The shadow around him disappeared.  
  
"Fire of this room, come to me. Fire of the north, come to me. Fire of the south, come to me. Fire of the east, come to me. Fire of the west, come to me. Fire of the mighty sun, fire above, fire that comes from the heavens, lend me your strength. . ." he chanted. As he said this chant, the fire in the room wrapped around him, until he was in the center of a pillar of fire.  
  
He raised his hands into the air. "GO BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG!" he yelled. The fire shot through the roof, into the sky, and into the sun.. It fell dark and silent for a few moments. Akio stood like he was for a couple of seconds, burned, then collapsed to the ground.  
  
"Akio!" Kouten cried. Some snow came blowing in through the charred holes in the wall to Gabriel to help heal him.  
  
"A. . .ki. . .o. . ." Gabriel whispered. He frowned in concern and anger as Yukitama materialized in his hand, it now cold enough to form. He slashed through the shadow, fell to the ground, and ran over to Akio, but stopped five feet away when he felt the heat emitting from the boy. "Akio, are you alright?!" he asked.  
  
"I. . .I'll live. . .just hurry up and get the others free." Akio said. Gabriel paused, then nodded. He slashed through the shadows. Kisike stood up.  
  
"Well, now what?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Now we go find Inuyasha and Bridget. No doubt Shisou has caught up to them by now, seeing as how they're not back yet." Gabriel said worriedly, looking outside.  
  
Raylin nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's go find them." She turned to Kouten. "Kouten, watch over Akio for us, okay?"  
  
Kouten nodded. "I will."  
  
***  
  
Bridget dropped her sword as Shisou let go of her wrist. She grabbed at the shadow wrapped around her throat with both of her hands. "Inuyasha. . .help. . ." she managed to say with the little air she had left.  
  
"Let her go! Right now!" Inuyasha yelled. He watched Bridget's grip loosen on the shadow and knew that she was suffocating.  
  
"You only have to do one thing. . .hand over the Shikon shards that you possess." Shisou hissed. Bridget's eyelids lowered as the shadow's grip tightened. Inuyasha growled in his throat.  
  
'Kagome, please forgive me. . .' Inuyasha thought as the jewel shards slipped from his fist. Shisou laughed as they hit the ground. He out stretched his hand and a small shadow shot forth and grasped the shards. "Now keep the end of your deal." Inuyasha growled, straining on his bonds. Shisou faked a confused look.  
  
"What deal did I agree to?" Shisou asked, he glanced down at the shards that were now in his hands. "Oh that deal. . .sorry but the contract is now invalid." Inuyasha roared in anger and pulled at his bonds. Bridget's eyes fluttered close, her hands falling limply to her sides.  
  
***  
  
Amanda had her hands around Gabriel's neck. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!" She screamed in his ears. Gabriel was turning blue. "How could you let Inuyasha go off when a mad shadow demon is out trying to take the shards?!"  
  
"Lady Amanda, let go of Gabriel's neck and go find the others. . ." Miroku said putting his hand on her shoulders. Amanda dropped Gabriel to the ground were he laid there with swirly in his eyes.  
  
"Inuyasha! Well what are we waiting for?" Amanda asked running out of the ruined temple. Everyone sweatdropped and followed the neko-jin that was running through the woods. 'Inuyasha don't you dare get killed. . .or I will never forgive you.' Amanda thought.  
  
The others caught up to her. Through the woods, they spied a black shadow dome. Amanda ran full blast at the dome. "Amanda watch out!!!" Raylin cried out as shadow like tentacles flew out from the dome. Amanda did not stop as they flew straight at her.  
  
Her hands started to glow red as her claws slid out of her fingertips. "Blackmoon Blaze!" She shouted and brought her hands out on to the nearest tentacle. It hissed and disappeared. She dodged the rest of the tentacles and brought the attack down directly on to the dome it self. It seemed to shatter and disappear as it fell. Inuyasha dropped to the ground and caught Bridget as she fell. Shisou sneered as he took a few steps back.  
  
"You think you have defeated me but you are wrong. . .very wrong indeed. . ." He took the shards and pushed them in to his skin of his wrists. "You don't stand a shadow of a chance. . ." he thundered.  
  
Amanda and the others stepped in front of Inuyasha and Bridget. Shisou suddenly flung shadows at the group. Amanda narrowly dodged one as it slashed by her face. A few strands of hair fell to the ground.  
  
"Guys, we have a problem. . ." Raylin whimpered as she held the front of her shirt, which had a cut in it. Inuyasha growled in his throat.  
  
"What we need is the Tetsusaiga. . ." Miroku said as he reached and grasped his rosary that sealed away his air void in his right hand.  
  
"Do you think I don't know that?!" Inuyasha growled in frustration. He looked at Shisou. The shadow demon laughed at their attempts to work up a plan that would mean his demise.  
  
"Do you really think that you can defeat me with you pathetic attacks?" He taunted. Raylin moved in front of Inuyasha with an arrow already placed in the taunt bow.  
  
"Eat arrow, jerk!!!!" Raylin shouted as she let go of the arrow. It sped though the air and just as it was about to hit Shisou. It flew off in another direction. "WHA?!"  
  
"Pitiful." Shisou said as he swept his hand toward the group. A big wall of shadow smashed in to the Inuyasha's group. They picked them selves up out of the freezing cold snow. Gabriel disappeared into the white snow. Shisou formed a fist with his right hand, a black blade forming (like Kisike's). It was his shadow sword, Tokoyami (A/N: And no, not the one off of Yu Yu Hakusho. . . -.-;)  
  
Gabriel suddenly appeared behind him and swung at him with Yukitama. Shisou stepped aside. He raised his black blade and brought it down in the middle of Gabriel's back. The snow demon cried out and collapsed in the snow unconscious. His wound closed up with snow as the blood froze.  
  
"Gabri!" Kisike shouted. She growled at Shisou. "You are going to die for that!"  
  
Shisou shrugged. "So what?" Kisike rushed at him with her claws extended and teeth bared. She tried to swipe at him but received at solid blow to the back of the head and collapsed in the snow. "Lots of talk but no do."  
  
"SHUT UP!!!" A voice said from behind him. He turned around to see Inuyasha with his deformed Tetsusaiga.  
  
"Are you serious?" Shisou asked, raising an eyebrow. Amanda stepped in front of Inuyasha.  
  
"What are you doing?" Inuyasha demanded angrily. Amanda growled in her throat.  
  
"Do you feel like a double team?" She asked. Inuyasha blinked.  
  
"But the Tetsusaiga. . .?"  
  
"Do you have any other attacks?"  
  
"Yeah. . ."  
  
"Then use them. . ." Amanda said as her claws extended. Inuyasha sheathed the sword and smirked. They rushed at Shisou. Amanda ran to one side of him while Inuyasha ran to the other side. They leapt in to the air and screamed their attacks (A/N: Inuyasha did his Iron Reaper Soul Stealer and Amanda did her Blackmoon Blade). They both struck Shisou head on. A small explosion covered the spot where Shisou stood. "Yes, we did it!" Amanda cheered as they fell through the air back to the ground. Suddenly a black-like spear shot through the smoke. Amanda's eyes went wide as it flew right at her. She screamed as it pierced her side.  
  
"AMANDA!" Everyone screamed (A/N: Strangely enough. . . .in unison..) as she fell through the air and hit the ground. Inuyasha ran over to her and rolled her over on to her side.  
  
"Oh god. . ." Inuyasha whispered hoarsely as he looked at her side. Blood spilled onto the snow as Amanda gripped her side and looked up at him. She smiled weakly before collapsing.  
  
Inuyasha stood up and gripped the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. He turned to face Shisou. "Oh, what's the matter? Did I hurt your friend?" Shisou taunted as Inuyasha unsheathed the Tetsusaiga. Fire was evident in his eyes.  
  
"You will pay dearly. . ." Inuyasha growled. The hilt of Tetsusaiga flickered gold, transforming. He rushed at Shisou. "Take this! My love. . .my anger.and all of my sorrow!!" He struck Shisou in the arm with the Tetsusaiga. The shadow demon hissed and shrunk back a few steps.  
  
The two rushed at each other and their swords met. There was a bright flash of light that blinded everyone. When everyone could see Inuyasha and Shisou, they were standing with their backs to each other and down on one knee. Inuyasha grunted and a thin line of blood streamed down his face from a small knick in his cheek. Shisou fell over and before he touched the ground, he disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and was gone. . .and the Shikon jewel shards fell to the ground.  
  
Inuyasha sighed and stood up, slowly sheathing the Tetsusaiga. "That should have gotten you. . .shadow demon or not, there's no way you could have withstood an attack like that."  
  
"Don't. . .don't be stupid. . ." Kisike said weakly as she awoke. She sat up. "That's what always happens. . .don't you know. . .? It's the laws of anime. . .and since I've never been in a situation like this in the real world, I'm guessing it's the laws of anime apply to the real world too. . ."  
  
Inuyasha looked down at her. "What lunacy are you babbling on about?"  
  
Kisike sighed. "The good guy or the bad guy always reserves their strongest attack for the last moment. They use it, their opponent disappears, and the attacker is like 'Ahaha. . .I killed him. . .yay. . .' and everyone starts celebrating, then the good guy or bad guy comes back to life and throws this attack that either destroys the earth or the hero or villain, then the hero or villain uses an even STRONGER attack that just gets thrown back at them and kills them. Usually the villain. If you haven't prepared for this, then doom on you!" Kisike explained.  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "Doom on you. . .doom on you. . ." she said ominously, edging towards Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped and took a couple steps back. ". . .Get away from me. . ." He shook his head. "Besides. I really doubt that's going to happen." He said as he bent down to pick up the jewel shards.  
  
Suddenly, shadow sprung from the ground and wrapped around him, then sent him flying into a tree and bound him to it. "You should have listened to the girl. Do you really think you could have taken care of me so easily?" Shisou's voice said as the Shikon shards covered with shadow.  
  
". . .You know how easy this would be if only we had a couple of machine guns?" Raylin said. Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"What's a machine gun?" Miroku asked.  
  
". . .I'll explain later."  
  
"Okay."  
  
The shadows covering the shards suddenly shot up in a column, then went to humanoid form. The details appeared and the shadow turned to flesh, revealing Shisou.  
  
"Don't you ever die?!" Inuyasha half growled, half yelled.  
  
"You should know that you can never destroy shadow. Not with light, not with darkness. Shadow can live physically in darkness and mentally in the evil of a person's heart. It is immortal, and so am I, unlike any dog." Shisou said.  
  
"Blah, blah, blah. You're all talk unless you can back up your words." Inuyasha shot back.  
  
"Oh, I believe I already have." Shisou said, grinning maliciously, looking over at Amanda, then Gabriel, then Kisike, then Bridget, then back to Inuyasha. The bonds around Inuyasha suddenly tightened, almost to the point of cracking a few of his ribs. Inuyasha cried out.  
  
Gabriel looked weakly up at Shisou. 'How did he become so evil. . .? When? And how do we stop him. . .what's his weakness. . .?' he wondered. His eyes suddenly widened as a flashback came to him.  
  
*flashback*  
  
"Boy. You can do much better than that. Try it again." Shisou scolded.  
  
Six year-old Gabriel looked up at him as he stood on the ice of the frozen lake. "I'm sorry, sensei, but I just can't fight on the ice. It's just too slippery." he said in defeat.  
  
"Don't be stupid, this is your element." Shisou snapped. "Become one with the ice. You don't have time to think in a battle, only to react. I'm not trying to teach you how to figure skate, I'm trying to teach you how to fight."  
  
"But why are we fighting on the ice?"  
  
"It is best to be able to fight on any kind of terrain, including ice. You are the demon of the snow. If anything, it gives your OPPONENT a disadvantage when fighting on the ice, and you want them to have that."  
  
"But why be used to any terrain if I can just fly?"  
  
"There may come a day when you may just need this advantage. Now enough with the chatter! We will return to lessons now."  
  
They sparred for awhile, until Shisou said that it was about time to go back to the temple. "Come on, boy. Let's go." Shisou said, walking ahead. Gabriel stood rooted to his spot.  
  
"What are you just standing there for? Come on." Shisou said, continuing and not turning around. His foot suddenly set down on a patch of thin ice and he fell through.  
  
"Shisou-san! Shisou-san!" Gabriel yelled, running over to the hole where his drowning teacher was gripping the edge of the hole. He grabbed Shisou's wrist and pulled him out of the water.  
  
"Do not touch me." Shisou ordered as he saw Gabriel approach him. Gabriel stopped.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Do not. If you do, you may freeze the water on me. I can defeat anything but ice. If trapped in ice, shadow will be unable to penetrate it and I would not be able to escape." Shisou said.  
  
Gabriel nodded, understanding.  
  
*end of flashback*  
  
Shisou's words echoed through Gabriel's head. 'That's it. . .I need to freeze him in ice. . .' Gabriel thought. Yukitama appeared in his hand and he used that to help him stand. Shisou heard him stand and turned around.  
  
"It would be best if you got back on the ground, boy." he said.  
  
"I won't let you win with these unfair odds! I challenge you to a duel!" Gabriel said, already feeling drained of energy.  
  
"A duel?" Shisou mused in a quiet voice. "You speak as if you believe that you could defeat me."  
  
"Maybe I can." Gabriel said, hoping that he sounded confident.  
  
Shisou raised an eyebrow. "What insolence. . . Alright. Right here and now?"  
  
"Yeah, now. But not here. Follow me." Gabriel said.  
  
Inuyasha felt the bonds slacken, then disappear. He watched Shisou follow Gabriel through the woods. "Where are those to going off to. . .?" he asked. He walked over to Amanda, picked her up, and followed.  
  
Bridget began to wake up. "What happened. . .?" she asked weakly.  
  
"Stuff." Kisike said, standing up and following Gabriel. "Lets go."  
  
Bridget blinked, stood up, and followed them and Miroku, Shippou, and Raylin.  
  
Gabriel motioned her over. Bridget blinked again and ran over. "What?" she asked.  
  
"I know you can see the Shikon shards, so where are they now?" Gabriel asked.  
  
Bridget looked over at Shisou. Five points glowed on Shisou's right hand and through his sleeve. "They're on his right arm. The biggest is on his hand." she replied. Gabriel nodded.  
  
"Alright. Thanks."  
  
They all walked and eventually got to a frozen lake. Shisou snickered. "You want to fight here? On the ice, the place you have never succeeded on fighting on before?"  
  
"Yeah. I do." Gabriel said.  
  
"Well, then, come on. Let's hurry this up so that your demise will be met along with your friends quickly." Shisou sighed.  
  
Gabriel nodded and walked slowly onto the ice, Shisou following. They stopped about six feet away from each other. "Whenever you're ready." Gabriel said. Shisou hesitated, then nodded. He charged at Gabriel with a punch.  
  
Gabriel barely dodged. He threw a kick, but that was dodged more easily.  
  
"Gabri's gonna get killed out there! What's he doing?!" Kisike demanded as she stood on the shore.  
  
Everybody was silent, until Inuyasha finally said, "I get it. It's the terrain. Gabriel's the demon of snow and ice. It's his element. Shisou probably can't fight on ice."  
  
At that moment, Gabriel dodged a punch and slipped. Kisike looked over at Inuyasha. ". . .You were saying?" she said sarcastically.  
  
Gabriel stood up. "Well, I suppose that you haven't gotten any better at fighting on the ice, have you?" Shisou said.  
  
Gabriel frowned. 'I hope I can get this to work. . .' he thought worriedly. "I have! I've been training." he shot back.  
  
"Well you don't show it. Oh well. The easier this fight is for me." Shisou said, charging at Gabriel. He punched Gabriel in the face. Gabriel flew back across the ice and separated into snow. He reformed behind Shisou and kicked him in the back of the neck.  
  
Shisou flew forward and skidded to a stop a few feet away. "Good. You're beginning to focus a bit." he said. There was a sudden crack. Shisou's eyes widened as the ice cracked and he slowly fell through.  
  
Gabriel, able to walk on thin ice, ran forward and cut off Shisou's right arm before it sank. The rest of Shisou fell through. Sure that that wasn't enough to kill him, Gabriel grabbed his flailing left hand that was sticking out of the water to pull him out and freeze him.  
  
"Not this time, boy." Shisou sputtered, pulling. Gabriel slid closer to hole, knowing that he could drown since he couldn't swim. A small hand from above grabbed his left sleeve. Gabriel almost didn't notice until he felt the tug. He looked up to see-"Kouten! You're supposed to stay with Akio!" Gabriel scolded.  
  
"Well, I'm not. I'm helping you." Kouten said, sitting on her cloud.  
  
"Kouten, if I get pulled in, you'll get pulled in as well! Let go of my sleeve!"  
  
"No! And if you force me to, I'll hate you! Forever, so there." Kouten said stubbornly.  
  
Gabriel sweatdropped. "Like I could." he said. He was pulled closer to the hole a few more inches. "Kouten, just let go! Please!" Gabriel yelled.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no." Kouten said. Gabriel slid a few more inches. At that point, Gabriel's arm was in the hole. The ice cracked and Gabriel fell through, Gabriel's sleeve slipping out of Kouten's hand. "Gabriel!" Kouten cried.  
  
"Gabri!" Kisike cried. She ran to the hole and dove in after him.  
  
"Kisike, you idiot!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"Does she know how to swim?" Miroku asked doubtfully.  
  
Bridget nodded. "Yes, she does. But that's not going to help at all if she freezes first." she said.  
  
Raylin glared at Inuyasha. "You go after them." she said.  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"You're a dog demon, right? So do the dog paddle!"  
  
"One: I'm half dog demon. Two: Dog paddle? What is that, some kind of pun or joke? And three: Despite the fact that I'm half dog demon, doesn't mean I swim like a dog. I don't know how to swim, period."  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on* *Jessica's voice* We aren't able to come to the phone at the moment because we're at school, but heck, try to contact us anyway. Leave us a review. As for letting Kouga stay in our group. . .I dunno yet. We'll have to discuss it. ^ ^; Wait. . . *sighs* . . .Hold on a minute. . . *calls over to Kisike* Kisike, what are you do- Hey! Don't toss the phone out the window! *a crash is heard* *Kisike's voice in the background* Hey, I was seeing if the theory of gravity was really true. *Bridget's voice* With my phone?! Throw yourself out the window. It'll make a lot of people really happy. Hey! Get away from that answering machine! *sounds of the answering machine being picked up* *Kisike's voice* Alright people. Shut up. I'll be making the decisions. ^ ^; Just kidding! Well, I wish I could stay and chat, but I gotta run. . .literally. . .so just leave a review at the sound of the beep. *beep sounds* 


	12. Humans are disgusting

Author's Note: We own nothing.'Cept.Uhm.a few flying monkeys responsible for a few cow mutilations. . . you'll hear about them soon..  
  
'Ew. . .ewewew. . .' Kisike thought as she swam underneath the ice. She blinked. 'Huh. So it's true. Cats do hate water.' she thought. She looked around. 'Now, where is Gabri...?' she thought. She looked behind her and saw Gabriel unconscious.  
  
'There he is!' she thought. She swam over to the unconscious snow demon. She grabbed his wrist and swam up to the hole. Their heads broke the water's surface when a something suddenly grabbed her ankle, trying to pull her in. "Help!" she yelled. She dug her claws into the ice, making it crack even more.  
  
"Dammit!" Inuyasha yelled. He set Amanda down in the snow and started to the hole. He was stopped halfway there by Kouten.  
  
"Hold on. You'll fall through the ice. Here. Ride on my cloud. You'll be able to ride it for a short period of time. Just hurry up and save my friend and brother." Kouten said, jumping off her cloud.  
  
"Thanks, kid." Inuyasha said, jumping on the rain cloud without hesitation. He flew over to Kisike. "Grab my hand." he ordered.  
  
"Get Gabri first." Kisike said, teeth chattering from the freezing water. Inuyasha nodded, grabbed Gabriel's collar, and pulled him onto the cloud.  
  
"Okay, now you." Inuyasha said, reaching for Kisike's hand.  
  
"Something's got my ankle." Kisike informed him.  
  
Inuyasha looked into the hole to see that a shadow was wrapped around Kisike's ankle. "It's a shadow. Kisike, hurry up and grab my hand. I'll pull you out and cut the shadow with my claws." Inuyasha said, reaching down.  
  
Kisike began to reach up, but at that moment was pulled down. "Kisike!" Inuyasha yelled. At that moment, he saw a blur-faster than him, slower than Sesshoumaru-streak past him and dive into the hole. He made that blur out to be Bridget.  
  
* * *  
  
"You betrayed me. . .I offered to awaken your true powers and free you from the restraints of your human morals, if you gave me your loyalty. You accepted, but you didn't keep your end of the bargain. Now you will pay. . .you will pay with your life." a voice said around the drowning Kisike.  
  
Kisike struggled. 'Can't...breath...For my last words, I want a moose.' she thought. 'WAIT! Those were my last THOUGHTS! I didn't actually SAY that I wanted a moose! Now everyone's gonna think my last words were. . .were. . .Gabri? No-YES! No. . .YES! I CAN'T REMEMBER!!' Her head spun and her vision began to blur. Her muscles slackened and her eyes shut as she fell unconscious. Bridget swam up to her and grabbed the shadow, charging up some ki in her hand. The light made the shadow release and wither away, and Bridget grabbed Kisike and swam up to the surface.  
  
There heads broke the water and this time, Inuyasha was waiting with a hand outstretched. He grabbed Kisike's shirt and pulled her onto the cloud, then grabbed Bridget's hand and pulled her up onto the cloud as well. "Thank you, Inuyasha." Bridget said quietly.  
  
"Yeah, well next time you go trying to commit suicide, warn us, okay?" Inuyasha said sarcastically.  
  
Bridget smiled weakly. "Yeah, sure. I will." she said.  
  
"Another thing I want to know is how you were barely able to keep up with me about half an hour ago and now you're suddenly twice as fast." Inuyasha said.  
  
Bridget shrugged. "I don't know." she said.  
  
They got to the shore. As soon as they jumped off the rain cloud, the others raced up to greet them. "You guys okay?" Raylin asked.  
  
Kisike opened her eyes slightly. She coughed, then muttered, "Did I. . .Did I get my moose. . .?"  
  
Everyone stared at her. Finally, Shippou said, "Why would you want something that eats people?"  
  
"To eat yoooou!" Kisike said, jumping up and pointing at Shippou. Shippou blinked, then bit her finger. "Ow! Leggo, ya little rabid fox! If you bite somebody, at least go into balloon form! Geez, let go!" she yelled, flailing her arm around and trying to get the little fox demon to let go. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
"Well, we know SHE'S okay. . ." Raylin commented.  
  
Shippou let go and went flying through the air. Kouten jumped up on her rain cloud and caught him. "Shippou!" She squealed, hugging him until he turned blue.  
  
"Hey, Kouten, get the Shikon shards. They're still on the ice, okay?" Inuyasha said. Kouten looked over at the arm lying on the ice.  
  
"Eep! Gross, I ain't going near that thing!" Kouten squeaked.  
  
At that moment, the arm turned to shadow and withered away. The Shikon shards in the arm clattered to the ice. "Well isn't that convenient. The arm's disappeared." Inuyasha said. "You can get them now." he said.  
  
"But be careful. It could be a trap." Raylin said.  
  
"Why meee. . ." Kouten whined.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm here with you. We can both get them." Shippou said.  
  
Kouten looked over at him, then grinned. "Whatever you say, Shippou-Chan!" she squealed.  
  
Shippou sweatdropped. ". . .Shippou-Chan. . .?" he muttered.  
  
"Zoom!" Kouten yelled, flying over to the shards.  
  
". . .Well someone's all enthusiastic all of a sudden. . ." Inuyasha commented. Kouten picked up the shards and flew back, then over Inuyasha's head and dropped them. "OW!" Inuyasha yelled, rubbing the bumps on his head. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"  
  
"You were being sarcastic! Sarcasm isn't nice." Kouten explained.  
  
". . .Get used to it, kid." Inuyasha said.  
  
"We'd better get back, get the wounded treated." Raylin said.  
  
Inuyasha nodded and picked up Amanda. Raylin picked up Gabriel, much to Kisike's protests, but Kouten had told them that it would have frozen the water on Kisike if she touched Gabriel. They started back to the temple, Kisike complaining about the moose she didn't get.  
  
***  
  
"You are back, human. You may get your revenge, finally. I have given you flesh, and the powers of a demon . . .Now, you will kill Inuyasha and his friends, as your revenge." A voice said around the person floating in a dark void.  
  
"Kill. . .Inuyasha. . ." the person repeated. "Yes. . .he deserves to die. . ." The person's eyes opened slowly. "He will die. . .they all will. . ."  
  
***  
  
"Akio! Akio, we beat him! We really beat him!" Kouten said as she ran into the room.  
  
"You. . .beat him?" Akio repeated weakly. He looked over at Gabriel. "Gabriel. What is wrong with Gabriel?"  
  
"He nearly drowned. So did Kisike. And we need to get Amanda some medical help." Bridget replied. "She was stabbed."  
  
"I'll go get mother. She knows a bit about medicines and stuff." Kouten said, running out of the room.  
  
"Well, I think he missed the organs, at least." Raylin commented, studying Amanda's wound.  
  
"I hope you're right." Bridget said grimly.  
  
"We'll have to go soon. I mean, we still need to get Kouten's flute back from Sekkai."  
  
"Sekkai?! You're not really fighting her, are you?!" Akio cried.  
  
". . .If she doesn't give the flute up when we say 'please'."  
  
"But. . .she's Sekkai. My older sister. She's physically a year younger than Gabriel. She's hard and cold, and I rarely see her. Nobody in our family does, actually. She lives up on Mt. Fuji-"  
  
"She sounds like my brother." Inuyasha commented.  
  
Akio stared hard at him. "Not like Sesshoumaru. Your brother is emotionless, but Sekkai gets angered easily. She can turn you into stone, trap you in stone, and if her wrath is great, make volcanoes explode."  
  
"Vol-what?"  
  
"Volcanoes. Mountains that form when molten rock, called magma, is forced to the earth's surface." Raylin explained. There was a gasp. Kisike jumped up and pointed at Raylin, her finger about half an inch away from her face. Raylin sweatdropped. ". . .What?"  
  
"So it's TRUE! You DID memorize the science text book! That came straight from the glossary! I know because I just had to do a worksheet on it in science class! Must you memorize EVERYTHING?!" Kisike said accusingly.  
  
Raylin shrugged. "Hey. I study. That's why I make A's and you make...should I embarrass you in front of all these people?"  
  
Kisike licked her palm, then wiped it on Raylin's shirt. "Saliva. . ."  
  
"Ugh! That's disgusting!"  
  
"That's saliva." Kisike said, grinning.  
  
"All of you are disgusting. . ." Came a voice. Everyone turned to where it came from. Amanda was sitting up, gripping her side.  
  
"How do you feel?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Like I've been stabbed. . ." Amanda said sourly.  
  
"Yeah...that's umm. . .kind of what happened. . ." Kisike said, licking her palm again and chasing Raylin a few feet. Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"Humans are disgusting. . ." Inuyasha sighed  
  
"The problem is that we aren't human. . .at least, only half. . ." Bridget stated.  
  
"I think Inuyasha's seen Ice Age! From now on, I'm calling you Sid!" Kisike said. She grinned, took a U-turn from Raylin, and ran over to Inuyasha, wiping her palm on his outfit. "Saliva. . ."  
  
"Oh, gross! Get away from me!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping back.  
  
"And it looks like Lady Kisike has gone saliva crazy." Miroku sighed.  
  
"And you are. . .um. . .I don't know who you are! You're Mr. Nobody!" Kisike said, licking her palm and wiping it on Miroku's robe.  
  
"GHASTLY!" Miroku yelled, jumping back.  
  
Raylin grabbed Miroku's staff and held it up in front of the door. "Hey, Kisike, I think I see your moose out there." she said.  
  
"Do you really?!" Kisike asked. She ran to the door, not seeing the staff. Her head hit the staff and she fell to the ground with swirly eyes, unconscious.  
  
"Thank you." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Welcome." Raylin said.  
  
Akio sweatdropped. "Anyways, just to let you know, the area around there is pretty dangerous. You go north from here. When you leave here, you'll go through a couple of fields and villages, which are pretty peaceful, but then you get the woods. The woods on the way to Mt. Fuji are full of bandits and demons. Like I said, dangerous."  
  
"Well that's never stopped us before," Inuyasha said, "It won't stop us now."  
  
At that moment, Kouten and Ametsuchi walked in. "Mommy's here! You're going to be all better pretty soon, Amanda." Kouten said cheerfully.  
  
"Thanks Kouten. . .you too, Ametsuchi-san." Amanda said gratefully.  
  
"She's gonna make Gabriel all better too!" Kouten said.  
  
Ametsuchi smiled, then got some herbs out of a packet and began to make some kind of medicine.  
  
*one week later*  
  
"Are you coming with us, Gabri?" Kisike asked as she, Amanda, Raylin, Bridget, Shippou, Kouten, and Miroku prepared to leave.  
  
"No. I'd probably melt." Gabriel said in regret.  
  
". . .Now there's something you don't hear everyday." Bridget commented.  
  
"Frosty the snowman!" Amanda began to sing. Raylin threw a rock at her head.  
  
"Stick to the flute, you sound better on that." Raylin said.  
  
Amanda dodged the rock and stuck her tongue out at her. "Better than your singing." she said.  
  
Bridget sighed at her two friends' constant bickering, but didn't say anything.  
  
"How far is it from Mt. Fuji?" Miroku asked.  
  
"It should be at least two to three weeks to get over there, then another to get back." Gabriel replied.  
  
"I'll see you soon, Gabri!" Kisike said, hugging him. Gabriel sweatdropped, smiled, and hugged her back with his one arm.  
  
"I hope so." Gabriel said quietly.  
  
"Don't be pessimistic! We'll make it over there and get back my flute!" Kouten said optimistically.  
  
"Yeah! Sekkai doesn't stand a chance." Shippou agreed  
  
. "Just don't kill her, okay? She's our sister, and no matter how bad she may be, I don't want you to kill her." Akio said.  
  
"Okay, okay." Kisike sighed. 'So much for being homicidal. . .' She thought.  
  
"Here's some food for you all. Don't finish it all off too soon." Ametsuchi said, handing Bridget a bag of food.  
  
They nodded. "We can't thank you enough, Ametsuchi-san." Bridget said. "You and your family."  
  
"It's no trouble. Now, off you all go. Best to get a good start before noon." Ametsuchi said. Raylin nodded and started off down the path out of the temple. The group followed.  
  
"So, what should we do? What do we talk about?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Let's sing songs! I'm gonna sing the doom song now!" Kisike said, walking like Zim. She started singing the doom song. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
". . .Could you please stop now?" Miroku groaned after five minutes of singing.  
  
"Almost done! Doom doom doom! Dee end! Oh! Wassat?!" Kisike said, finishing the song.  
  
Everybody stared at her. "Um . . .okay. . ." Inuyasha said, his voice trailing off.  
  
"It's a moose." Raylin said.  
  
"Moose? Really?! Yay!" Kisike said.  
  
"Anybody else got any songs?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Please no more songs. That doom song of yours was torture enough on my ears." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Salivaaaa!" Kisike said, licking her palm and chasing Inuyasha down the road.  
  
"Get away from me!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
As everybody talked and laughed, they didn't notice that somebody was following them. . .  
  
*leaving a village; three days later*  
  
"Yet another village with no place to stay." Raylin sighed.  
  
"Does this normally happen?" Kouten asked.  
  
"Sometimes we sleep out in the woods. . ." Shippou said.  
  
Inuyasha was silent as they walked into some woods. "Why so quiet all of a sudden?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I know these woods. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
"With Hanzel and Gretel!" Kisike laughed.  
  
" . . .Not Hanzel and Gretel." Amanda said.  
  
"Awww. . .I was hoping to freak everybody out like I did to Gohan in that one fanfic Bridget wrote. . ."  
  
". . ."  
  
"You know these woods? Inuyasha, we've never been in this area before." Miroku pointed out, ignoring Kisike and Amanda.  
  
"You guys don't. But just trust me. I know a place we might can stay." Inuyasha said.  
  
Everyone blinked and followed. They finally came to a rock covered with ivy. "-.- Oh, nice sense of direction." Raylin said sarcastically.  
  
Amanda whacked her over the head. "Hush." she ordered, watching Inuyasha put his hand on the ivy.  
  
Inuyasha gripped the ivy tightly and pulled it to the side to reveal an opening leading to a valley.  
  
"Follow me." he said as he went through the hole. The others looked at each other and followed.  
  
"Where are we?" Bridget asked, looking around at the forest.  
  
"Home of the moose!" Kisike said.  
  
"Actually, this was Inuyasha-sama's home as a child." a voice said.  
  
Amanda looked around. "Who said that?!" she demanded. She saw something on Inuyasha's shoulder. ". . .Inuyasha, you've got fleas." she said. Inuyasha slapped the flea on his shoulder and held his hand out to look at the smooshed flea.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Myoga the flea. Gee, haven't seen you around since the last battle with Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha said.  
  
"My apologies, Inuyasha-sama, but I have heard a very strange rumor. I heard that four girls have been able to cross a line of the dimension star." Myoga said.  
  
"-.- Yeah. We kinda heard the rumor ourselves." Inuyasha said sarcastically, jerking his head towards the four girls. Myoga jumped up, ready to dive into a fold in Inuyasha's sleeve.  
  
"Oh no! Get away from them! They're really blood-sucking mutants in disguise!"  
  
". . .Oh yeah. Look who's talking." Kisike commented. "Got Raid?"  
  
Amanda smooshed Myoga, looking like she was giving Inuyasha a high five since Myoga was still on his hand. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!" she yelled.  
  
"Forgive me, Miss, but I only know what the rumors tell me." Myoga said.  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"Besides, strange things happen here. M'lord's father lived here, despite the strange rumors of the valley. Something about ponds-"  
  
"Yeah. I remember Sesshoumaru and I being told not to go near them." Inuyasha commented.  
  
"Oooh. . .could it be a water demon? Maybe it's a cousin of mine!" Kouten said cheerfully.  
  
"It's not anything IN the ponds. Nobody really knows what it is." Myoga said.  
  
"Maybe if a guy falls in they'll turn into a girl. A curse. Like on Ranma 1/2." Kisike said cheerfully.  
  
"It's not that..." Inuyasha said as the forest ended and they came to a clearing with ponds on both sides of the dirt road. Up ahead was a small temple.  
  
"So it's these ponds. . ." Miroku said, staring down into the ponds.  
  
Shippou looked down into one of the ponds from Kouten's cloud that he and Kouten were sitting on. "Hey, that's odd. There's no reflection." he said.  
  
"You can only see a reflection at night." Myoga said.  
  
"Yeah, but don't go near those ponds, especially at night." Inuyasha warned. He stopped in front of the small temple. "We're here." he announced. "This place is pretty old, but it's still livable."  
  
Bridget looked around. "Well, I think this place is beautiful." she commented.  
  
"It is. I remember when M'lord's father choose this place to live. Hidden, and away from most humans-" Myoga started.  
  
"Yeah. The thing is, he was hardly ever home." Inuyasha interrupted. He opened the door and walked inside. He noted that everything looked like it did when he left, only covered with dust. 'So long ago. . .' he thought. He remembered him leaving as soon as his mother had died of illness when he was ten, and with his father dead and brother leaving, had no reason to stay.  
  
Amanda, on the other hand, was looking out at forest. She watched a dark figure disappear behind the trees. "Inuyasha, Myoga, are you sure this place is secluded?" she asked.  
  
"Of course. Only members of M'lord's family knew where the two entrances to this valley was." Myoga said.  
  
"Didn't you have friends come over?" Kisike asked.  
  
"I had no friends." Inuyasha snapped, going into another room. There was silence for a little while, until Miroku said, "Well, I think it is time we should fix supper."  
A/N: *answering machine comes on* *Jessica * QUICK! UPDATE BEFORE THEY THINK WE'RE SLACKERS! *Kisike* . . . Erm. . .we ARE slackers ; * Jessica* I don't like this answering machine! *Kisike *IT'S MINE! YOU have no say in the matter!* Jessica* We're putting it on MY account!*Kisike * . . . .So . . . .* Jessica * Why am I even letting you do the answering machine in the first place?*Kisike * .I got Kouga to stop chewing on it..* Jessica* . . . . . . .Oh. . .* Kisike* Yeah. . .AND HE'S MY PLUSHIE! MINE! * Pounces Kouga * ^-^ Murr*Jessica* . . .Anyways. . .we'll update soon. . .Yeh. Just. . .review. . .in the mean time.now I just gotta get the answering machine back from 'Sike..*Kisike * TRY IT! JUST TRY IT! * Jessica* Erm..*Glance glance* * Kisike* POLL THINGY! THIS is where you vote for your fave ORIGINAL character in your reviews! VOTE FOR ME!*Jessica * Oh, god help us..*Kisike * WHEE! *Jessica * Why do we need a poll? As long as they like the story..*Kisike * POLLS ARE FUN! *Miroku* Sure they are.* leer at random girl* *Kisike * WHA?! HOW'D HE GET HERE!? *Jessica * *falls *What the!?* Kisike* ..Freak. * Hits Miroku with a frying pan * *Jessica * YAGO?!*Kisike * WHA?! WHERE?! * Glance glance* *Jessica *..This is getting long..*Kisike * Wonder if we'll run outta room..*Jessica * I doubt I - *Beep sounds* 


	13. Guess Who's Back

Author's note-So. . .tired. . . *falls over, asleep, then opens one eye* Thanks for the shards, Cat Silver. Now, as for ownership. . .we own nothing. So put away your lawsuits and read. *goes back to sleep*  
*that night*  
  
Amanda walked outside to sit beside Bridget, who was sitting on the porch looking up at the stars. "Hi." she said. "Hi."  
  
"Why do you look up at the stars every night?" Amanda asked.  
  
Bridget looked back up at the stars. "The stars are ancient and filled with mystery. . .astrologers believed they could tell the future with the moon and the stars. Stories were built around them and everything. I believe in magic, and that is the eye-catching quality that the moon and stars radiate with." she said.  
  
Amanda looked up at the stars. "It's getting close to a new moon." she commented.  
  
"Yes. If I'm right, it should be tomorrow night." Bridget said. She and Amanda sweatdropped as they heard Kisike yell 'saliva' from inside and a few yells following it. "Eh. . .I'd better go stop 'Sike from getting everyone wanting to kill her." she said, standing up.  
  
"As if they don't already?" Amanda asked.  
  
". . .Good point." Bridget sighed as she walked inside.  
  
Amanda stood up and walked down the steps, off the porch. She walked down the road and stopped ten feet away from the forest. "Hello? Is somebody out there?" she called.  
  
A shadowy figure stepped out of the forest. It was a girl that was wearing black priestess robes. She carried a quiver full of arrows and a bow. At her side was a katana. "Hey. . .who are you? How did you get here?" Amanda asked.  
  
The girl was silent. Then she said quietly, "I know that you are with Inuyasha's group. Where is he?"  
  
Amanda glared. "Who wants to know?" she demanded.  
  
"Are you refusing to answer, little hanyou?"  
  
Amanda glared and got into fighting stance. "Smart, ain't ya?"  
  
"Then you shall die," she said simply. She unsheathed her katana and ran at Amanda. Amanda dodged but fell off the road, into a pond. As she fell, she managed to get a glimpse of the reflection. 'What is that? That's not a reflection.' she thought as she hit the water and sank.  
  
The girl looked at the pond as the ripples quickly disappeared. She stared at the picture on the water. A boy pinned to a tree, a girl with a bow and arrow, and Amanda, staring at it all. Then she started to the temple.  
***  
  
Amanda swam up to the surface of a river and to the shore. She looked around. "This place. . .it looks like the forest we went through when we met Kaede," she muttered. Her eyes widened. "Wait! Where am I?!" she cried. She jumped out of the river.  
  
She shook herself off, squeegied the water out of her hair, and walked a little bit. She suddenly saw Inuyasha. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" she yelled, running over to him. Inuyasha didn't seem to hear. He stood in front of a tree, staring at someone.  
  
Suddenly an arrow pierced his chest and pinned him to the tree. "Ki- Kikyo. . .But why. . .I. . .I thought. . ." he whispered, reaching out. Suddenly he went limp, either unconscious or dead.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Amanda yelled. She looked behind her and saw the archer. It was a girl that had long black hair and looked a lot like the girl that tried to attack her. "Who are you?!" Amanda demanded.  
  
The girl didn't see. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Answer me! Why did you kill Inuyasha?!" Amanda yelled, marching over to her. The girl still didn't notice.  
  
Amanda growled and brought her fist down on the girl's head, only to go right through it. Amanda gasped. "What is this? My fist went right through her! Did I drown and become a ghost?!"  
  
The girl suddenly fell to the ground. Amanda thought that it may have been a late reaction to her hit, but then she saw the wound on the girl's shoulder. She heard the footsteps and yells of villagers.  
  
"Can they see me?! What will they think if they see me at the scene of the crime?!" Amanda wondered. "I have to get Inuyasha out of here." she said, running over to Inuyasha.  
  
"Wait. . ." the girl said, reaching out to her.  
  
"You can see me?!" Amanda asked in disbelief.  
  
"My parting hour draws near. . .do not free Inuyasha. . .for what he did to my village. . .and for his betrayal to me. . .he will stay there for eternity. . ." the girl said weakly.  
  
"What?! Inuyasha!" Amanda cried. "What did you do to him?!"  
  
"I only did what needed to be done. . .he destroyed my village. . .betrayed me. . .stole the Shikon No Tama. . ."  
  
"Who are you?" Amanda asked, confused.  
  
"My name is Kikyo. . ." the woman said.  
  
"Kikyo. . .?" Amanda muttered.  
  
"Please leave. . .please leave now. . .The villagers are not kind to demons. . .especially now. . ." Kikyo said. Amanda stood there, rooted to her spot. "Go!" Kikyo yelled.  
  
Amanda hesitated, glanced over at Inuyasha, then back at Kikyo, then turned and ran, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Inuyasha. . ." she whispered. 'Is this some kind of nightmare or something? Inuyasha would never destroy a village or do all those things that Kikyo girl said he did. What is going on? Where am I?" she wondered.  
  
She didn't notice where she was going until she fell into the river again.  
  
***  
  
Bridget ran back outside. Kisike and Raylin followed. "I thought I heard a yell. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"I KNOW I heard a yell. Or at least a cry." Kisike said.  
  
"I think it was Amanda. . .oh no, where she?"  
  
Raylin got a bow and arrow. "Let's go see what it is!" she said confidently.  
  
Kisike -.-'d. "Yeah. You think that if it's a demon then you're going to kill it with one arrow."  
  
"Well, duh! Nothing can stand against the power of my arrows! More like fall. Yeah!" Raylin said.  
  
This time Bridget -.-'d. "Yep. She's lost it."  
  
Raylin whacked her over the head. "Shut up!"  
  
"She lost it a long time ago. . ." Kisike said.  
  
Raylin whacked her over the head too. "You shut up too! Now, let's go find the thing so I can kill it!"  
  
"Why should all of us go if you're going to kill the thing?" Bridget asked.  
  
"For backup, of course. C'mon." Raylin said, running down the steps.  
  
"Doooom. . .Doom on her. . ." Kisike said as she followed. Miroku, Shippou, and Kouten stood outside the door as Bridget joined Raylin and Kisike.  
  
"Where are you three off to?" Miroku asked.  
  
"We heard a scream. Wanna come? You can die with us! It'll be fun!" Kisike said with sudden enthusiasm.  
  
Miroku sweatdropped. "Uh. . ."  
  
"Um. . .Maybe I'll stay behind. . .without my flute, I can't really fight if something mean is out there. . ." Kouten said, backing into the temple.  
  
"Yeah. You stay here, Kouten. I'll stay here and protect you." Shippou said.  
  
"Yay!" Kouten said. She grabbed Shippou's hand and pulled him into the temple.  
  
Miroku followed Bridget, Kisike, and Raylin. They saw a shadowed figure standing on the road in front of them. "Who are you?! And what did you do with Amanda?!" Bridget demanded.  
  
"She turned her into a tangerine. . ." Kisike said.  
  
Everybody sweatdropped. "Uh, no. . ."  
  
"Miroku." the figure said. The person stepped forward. They could see that it was a girl. Miroku gasped.  
  
"But you're-"  
  
"That's right. It is I. And I am looking for Inuyasha. Just where might he be?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Inuyasha. . .you see, he wanted me dead. So I intend on paying him back."  
  
"You're wrong! Inuyasha never wanted you dead!"  
  
"He did, actually. Now, tell me where he is or I shall have to kill you all."  
  
"We won't tell!"  
  
"Then you all will just have to die." the girl said, running forward, katana in hand.  
  
Miroku, Kisike, Bridget, and Raylin scattered, each falling into a separate pool. Each seeing a different reflection. Each going to a different place. . .  
***  
  
Miroku climbed out of the river by a waterfall. It was the same river near his uncle's shrine. "How did I get here. . .?" he wondered. He suddenly heard screaming. "What the?!" He got up and ran to where the screaming was coming from, near his father's grave.  
  
He saw Raylin, Kisike, Bridget, Amanda, Inuyasha, Shippou, Sango, Kirara, and his uncle standing at the edge of a crater. He looked down into the crater and saw. . .himself (J/N: We'll just call him Miroku 2). It was himself being consumed by the air void. Miroku gasped and stared at his hand that was holding the air void. Nothing was happening to him, but to the other him. . .  
  
'Wait. When did Sango and Kirara rejoin our group?' he wondered, looking over at the group. 'This isn't a memory. . .not the past. . .it is not the present either. . .then. . .could I possibly be in the future?!'  
  
"Miroku!" the group yelled.  
  
"Miroku. . .please, don't die. . ." Miroku heard Raylin say tearfully.  
  
Miroku 2 looked over at Raylin, then suddenly at Miroku. His eyes widened, surprised at the vision of himself standing at the edge of the crater. Miroku looked over at the group to see if they could see him too. Nobody seemed to. "They can't see me. . ." Miroku said.  
***  
  
Bridget climbed out of the pond and looked around. Nobody was there. "Kisike? Raylin? Miroku?" she called.  
  
"Give that back!" she heard a child yell. She saw a child chasing another one holding a ball and running down the road. The child with the ball was around ten and had long, silver hair and a fluffy white tail over his shoulder. The child chasing him was around five and also had long, silver hair but also dog ears.  
  
"Could that be. . .Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. . .?" Bridget wondered, standing up.  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped and turned around. "Why should I? Maybe I should just toss it into one of the ponds." he said.  
  
"C'mon! Stop picking on me!" Inuyasha whined. "You know I can't get it if you throw it into one of the ponds."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru! Lunch time!" they heard Inuyasha's mother call from the front door.  
  
They both looked over at the woman. Sesshoumaru tossed the ball away. "I don't have any time to waste on you anyway, hanyou." he said.  
  
"Hey!" Inuyasha cried, running for the ball. He stopped as the ball rolled into one of the ponds. "Oh no. . ." he said tearfully. He turned to Sesshoumaru. "Sesshoumaru! You're mean!" he accused.  
  
"Whatever." Sesshoumaru said, walking into the temple. Inuyasha's mother-who saw the whole thing-walked over.  
  
"Inuyasha, don't cry." she said, kneeling down behind Inuyasha.  
  
Inuyasha wiped a tear from his eye. "I hate him! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!" He said.  
  
"Now, now. . .remember, he's still your brother." his mother said, hugging him.  
  
"But. . .but he's always so mean! Is it really because I'm half human? I can't help it!"  
  
"He just has trouble accepting the fact that his brother has to be half human...he doesn't like humans that much. Not too many demons do."  
  
"He doesn't hate you, does he?" Inuyasha asked, wide-eyed.  
  
"I think he hates me, but he tolerates me because your father likes me." His mother said, the last few words coming out as a cough. Bridget saw blood on the woman's hand.  
  
"Mommy? Are you sick?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"I'm fine, Inuyasha. . .don't worry about me." the mother said. She looked squinted over at Bridget. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
Bridget blinked. "Me?" she asked.  
  
"Who, Mommy? Who?" Inuyasha asked, looking around. "I don't see anyone. Only you." he said.  
  
The woman frowned. "You don't. . .see her. . .?"  
  
"No. . .Maybe you are sick." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Maybe I am. Come on inside." Inuyasha's mother said, walking inside. Inuyasha ran after her.  
  
Bridget blinked. "That. . .was weird. . ." she said. She frowned. "Wait. . .she was coughing up blood. . .that's tuberculosis, wasn't it?" She thought to herself. She looked back at the pond. 'I don't belong here. . .this is the past, I'm sure. . .but how do I get back. . .?'  
***  
  
Kisike climbed out of a pool of water and looked around. "Ooo. . .Where am I?" She seemed to be in a huge room made of obsidian. "Ello?" she called.  
  
"How did you get here?!" A voice hissed angrily behind her. She whirled around to see a figure with a black robe and cloak. The only thing she could see of the creature's face was two, glowing, red eyes.  
  
"Whooo arrre yooou?" Kisike asked, not at all intimidated and pointing at him.  
  
"Why you little brat! Such disrespect!"  
  
Kisike's eyes sarcastically widened. "Are you talking. . .to me? You mean you can see me?!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
Kisike grabbed his hand, smiled, and closed her eyes. "I can talk trash to people and even touch them. . ." She threw his hand away and opened her eyes. "To be alive. . .is a wonderful thing!" She said, marching off.  
  
The creature glared. "Come back here!" he yelled, his voice raspy. Kisike looked at him over her shoulder to see him starting toward her.  
  
"Uh oh. Gotta go!" she yelled, running down a hallway. "Yeah. . .I'm too stupid to talk to you. . ." she muttered, quoting Brian Regan. She looked over her shoulder to see two bolts of black lightning headed for her. ". . .Dang it. . ." she said, turning a corner. The lightning followed. She turned into a room to hide and shut the door.  
  
"Dead end. . ." she said, looking around the room. There were no other doors and no windows, and the lightning began to pound against the door.  
  
"You can never escape. . .your friends can't come to your aid now. . ." the person's voice echoed around her.  
  
***  
  
Raylin swam to the edge of the pond and climbed out. "That was not fun. . ." she muttered, wringing out her hair. She looked around. ". . .Alright. What's going on?" she demanded.  
  
"Help!" she heard someone call. "Help me!"  
  
Raylin blinked. "What in the. . ." She looked down the path to see herself (J/N: We're just calling her Raylin2) running towards her. Only, this Raylin was completely human and missing her bow and arrow. Behind her, chasing her, a. . .manticore? Its body was the cross between a lion and an ape, and it was blowing black fire at her. Black fire that seemed to leave some kind of glowing green acid. "Helllp!" she heard Raylin2 yell.  
  
Raylin frowned. 'What the heck is going on here? Where are the others?' she wondered. At that moment, the manticore turned its glowing green eyes at her. "Uh oh. . .  
  
***  
"Shippou, I'm scared." Kouten whined.  
  
"Don't worry! I'm sure the others can take care of whatever is going on outside, and if it comes in here, I could probably take care of it with my foxfire!" Shippou said, sounding confident (even if he really wasn't.)  
  
"Where is that Inuyasha?! We haven't seen him since we got here!" Kouten said, pacing around the room. Shippou watched her.  
  
"Well, he probably hasn't been home in a long time. He's probably just checking to see if anything's changed." He reasoned. He blinked. "Are you trying to make a hole in the floor?"  
  
Kouten stopped and crossed her arms. "No! But Inuyasha should be helping us right now, not looking at some old dusty stu-" Her voice stopped dead when they heard footsteps outside. She glanced over at the door, then fearfully back at Shippou. "Shippou. . .?" she squeaked.  
  
Shippou jumped up and stood protectively in front of Kouten, preparing himself for the worst. The door opened slowly, and whom Shippou saw was not at all what he was expecting. "K-K-K-K-" he stammered. Then he fainted. And since Shippou had fainted, Kouten seemed to think that that was a good reason to faint. So, she fainted too.  
  
The person walked past them and began to start to the back door, ignoring them.  
  
***  
  
Inuyasha stood at his mother's grave, staring down at it. Finally he said softly, "Hey, Mom. It's me. . .Inuyasha. . ." A breeze rustled the leaves in the trees and his hair slightly, as if his mother was replying.  
  
"I'm fine, I guess. . ." he said. He smiled sadly. "I guess you never expected me to come here again. . .I've met some new friends, but I've also lost a few. . ." he said. Suddenly the pain of loss began to well up inside him again. The pain he felt when he lost his mother.Kikyo.Kagome. He glared, shut his eyes, and turned away trying to block the pain.  
  
"Too much pain. . .too much loss. . .when will it ever end?" he muttered.  
  
"Inuyasha. . ." a voice said behind him.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and widened as he whirled around. No, no, it couldn't be her. He couldn't believe it. "Kagome. . ."  
  
"Inuyasha. . ." Kagome said, walking over to him.  
  
'No. . .God, not again. First Kikyo, now her. Will my past ever leave me alone?' Inuyasha thought. "Are. . .are you real?"  
  
Kagome stopped in front of him. "Inuyasha, I really am back. More than Kikyo, in fact." She said.  
  
"Why are you wearing those clothes. . .?"  
  
Kagome tugged at her outfit a little. "Oh, these? Just. . .something I found lying around." She said. She hugged Inuyasha. "Inuyasha. . .you don't know how long I've been searching for you." She said.  
  
Inuyasha put his arms around her. "I thought you were dead." He muttered. "How did you come back? When?"  
  
"I'm not dead now. . .don't worry. . .you'll understand soon enough." She whispered to him. Inuyasha suddenly felt something pierce his back. His eyes widened and his muscles slackened. Kagome pulled away and let him collapse. She was holding an obsidian blade stained with blood. "Poison blade. . .any questions?"  
  
Inuyasha felt his vision blur as his head spun. He could feel his body beginning to go numb. "Why. . .? Kagome. . ."  
  
"You're such a fool. You'll never learn." Kagome said, placing the dagger in her sheath with her katana. "Haven't you figured out that you should never trust the dead? Especially the ones that want revenge."  
  
"What are you talking about? What revenge. . .? What did I-"  
  
"You wanted me dead! You let Sesshoumaru kill me!" Kagome argued.  
  
"Wanted. . .I never wanted you dead. Who told you that?"  
  
"Nobody did. I figured it out all on my own." Kagome said. She began to pace. "It's a good thing I was brought back to li-"  
  
"Who brought you back? Was it Naraku? That witch that brought Kikyo back to life?"  
  
"Now, now, Inuyasha. Naraku had no part of this. He's got enough mindless minions, such as Kohaku. And you're forgetting that that witch is dead. Thanks to the all-knowing, I'm back." Kagome said. "So, who was that girl that's been hanging around you lately? The one with the short, brown hair? Your new shard-locator?"  
  
Inuyasha glared. "You leave Amanda outta this! And she's not my shard- locator!"  
  
"Amanda, huh?" Kagome said. She stopped pacing and looked down at his glaring face. "What are you going to do? Kill me? You wouldn't kill Kikyo. . .even when she tried to kill you. . .and me. . ."  
  
"But. . ."  
  
"I've figured out why you wanted me dead. First of all, you loved Kikyo, but I was in the way. Second of all, you thought that if I died, you could get those prayer beads off your neck."  
  
"For the last time! I never wanted you dead!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"Don't lie about it; you wanted me dead from the time we first met!" Kagome yelled back. She unsheathed her katana. "Now I'm sick of hearing your lies, Inuyasha. You've never shown me any respect, not even when I was dead. Now it's time for you to die!" She yelled. She brought down the katana but Inuyasha-with much effort-caught it with both hands when it was an inch from his chest.  
  
"Look, I don't know who brainwashed you-and frankly, at the moment, I don't really care-but what I do care about is how to undo it!" he said.  
  
"I wasn't brainwashed; I figured it out all on my own! Just because I'm human, doesn't mean I'm as stupid as you think!" Kagome said. She thought for a moment. "Well, technically that's not true. . ." she started. That's when Inuyasha saw Kagome's demon ears. His eyes widened.  
  
"You're-you're a demon. . ." he said.  
  
Kagome smirked. "Yes, I am. I was given the powers of a demon when I was brought back to life. I was wondering how long it would take you to notice. I'm now stronger than you'll ever be. But I think I'll kill you with that word that you love so much."  
  
Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly and prepared himself for Kagome to say 'sit'. "S-ack! Hey!" Kagome yelled, glaring as the katana fell into two pieces. Inuyasha looked around.  
  
'Huh? What happened. . .?' he wondered. A shadowy figure jumped off a tree branch and walked towards them. It was a boy of about seventeen. He had his black, shoulder-length hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had golden eyes and dog ears, like Inuyasha's. But he was wearing an outfit a lot like Sesshoumaru's, only it was plain black and he was holding a katana. "Sigaru?!" Inuyasha said in disbelief.  
  
Sigaru smirked. "Inuyasha." He said. He looked over at Kagome. "Who is this. . .?"  
  
"Don't you hurt her!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
Sigaru blinked. "Why not? She just tried to kill you. That's my job."  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *Kisike's voice comes on* I win! *Raylin in the background* Yeah right! I'm tied with you! *Kisike* . . .Beepbeepbeepbeeeep. This is the dialtone. . . *Raylin* Hey, give me that! *sounds of a struggle are heard* *Raylin's voice comes on* We would like to thank everybody for the reviews. Oh, and Bunny, we'll add the name to our list of inanimate objects. You know, we have a chair over at Bridget's house that we call Loki and a cardboard cutout of an alien that we also call Christo- *Kisike* NO! No, do not remind me of that weird. . .weird thing. . .I'm gonna burn it. I will. . .somebody get me some gasoline. . . *Raylin* Anyways, I gotta go help Kisike find gasoline. . .so leave a review at the sound of the beep. Bye. *beep sounds* 


	14. Freedom of Nightmares For Some

Author's note-Well, it's happened. We wrote like, 105 pages before we posted this. . .we just reached the end. That's why this chapter is so short. So there may be slight delay posting the next chapter, but it'll only be a day or so. My friends and I are on it. ^ ^ Oh, but I need to mention something. On Wednesday, I'll be going on a school trip and won't be back until Friday, so you'll have to wait a couple of days. . . Sorry. But I'll try to write as much as I can on paper when I get to the camp. Believe me, I've been there and at night time it gets as boring as hell, so I'll have plenty of time to write and stuff. Besides, there's a Shikon shard at the camp (so we hear.) Kouga wants to come with us, but he didn't pay for it. But he's just going to follow us anyway and sleep outside. -.-; *sigh* Oh well. Still don't own anything yet. Hopefully we'll get all the shards and be able to own Inuyasha before we die of the camp's food. Oh well. I'm rambling. Read the fic. Enjoy.  
  
"Well, well. It appears that Inuyasha has another enemy." Kagome said, turning to Sigaru.  
  
"Yep. I'm going to kill Inuyasha, so you can just go away now." Sigaru said.  
  
"Like you could." Inuyasha said sardonically.  
  
"Yes, I could." He said. "I can and I will.  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Hey!" he called to Sigaru. Sigaru looked over at him.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did you happen to see anybody as you came here?"  
  
"Yeah. In the ponds."  
  
"In the WHAT?!"  
  
"Ponds. In the ponds."  
  
Inuyasha glared and feeling slowly returned to his body. He slowly stood up. Kagome glared.  
  
"Hey! Get back on the ground!" she yelled.  
  
Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "And as for you, I didn't want you dead! If I did, I would have killed you myself!"  
  
Kagome closed her eyes, smirked, and put her hands on her hips. "Sit boy."  
  
"Ack!" Inuyasha yelled, slamming into the ground.  
  
Sigaru snickered, then burst out laughing. "The mighty Inuyasha is defeated by a necklace!"  
  
Inuyasha turned and glared at him as soon as the spell wore off.  
  
"Damn it! It's not my fault. . ."  
  
"It is too!"  
  
"Is not. . ."  
  
"Let me guess: You went flying off the handle again." Sigaru said knowingly.  
  
"Did not. . .this wouldn't have happened if that old hag didn't happen to have these stupid prayer beads. . ."  
  
Kagome nodded. "That's. . .pretty much right. . .and she wouldn't have to put them on if you would have just behaved." She said. She turned to Sigaru. "Now, are you going to try to keep me from killing Inuyasha?" she asked him.  
  
Inuyasha struggled to get up. "Shut up. I never wanted you to die, Kagome. . .I told you to run. . .but you came back. . ." he said.  
  
Sigaru looked over at Inuyasha. "I didn't know you hung out with evil people. . .that was your brother. . .oh well. . ." he said.  
  
"Enough of this! Whoever you are, whose side are you one?!" Kagome demanded impatiently.  
  
"Well, I don't want you killing Inuyasha because that's my job. So I guess that means I'll have to stop you." Sigaru replied.  
  
"Please, don't hurt her. . ." Inuyasha begged. He grunted in pain and collapsed.  
  
"Alright then!" Kagome said, taking out her dagger. She threw it at Sigaru.  
  
Sigaru dodged and looked over at Inuyasha. "How about I just seriously injure her?"  
  
"As if you could!" Kagome said with a smirk.  
  
Inuyasha ignored Sigaru and decided to continue to try to get Kagome back to being good. "Kagome, you have to believe me. . .I never wanted you to die. . ."  
  
"Shut up! Sit boy!" Kagome ordered.  
  
Inuyasha crashed to the ground.  
  
". . .Can I kill her now?" Sigaru asked. Inuyasha had swirly eyes. Sigaru blinked, not getting an answer. ". . .Ello? You dead yet?" he asked.  
  
"It takes more than a couple of sits to kill me. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Good."  
  
*back in the house*  
  
Shippou woke up and sat up. "K-K-K-K-" he stammered, about to faint again.  
  
Kouten moaned and stirred. "Shippou. . ." She muttered. She sat up and blinked. "WAKE UP!" she yelled.  
  
"K-K-K-" Shippou continued. He looked over at Kouten. "Kouten!" he said.  
  
"Hello. . ." Kouten said, smiling.  
  
"Uh. . .hi?" Shippou replied.  
  
"We need to find the rest of the gang. . .they haven't come back yet. . ." Kouten said. Shippou turned into a pink balloon.  
  
"Okay!" he said as he floated out. Kouten ran after him.  
  
"Now, where could they be?" Shippou asked.  
  
Kouten peered into the darkness. "I see something down the road. . .near the ponds, I think. . ." she said. "Hurry!" she said, speeding up a bit.  
  
Shippou turned back into himself. "Okay. . .wait. Didn't the others say not to go near them?"  
  
"But they might be in trouble. . ." Kouten said.  
  
"Figures that grown-ups would be stupid enough to go against their own word. . ." Shippou muttered.  
  
Kouten smiled and sweatdropped. "Yeah. . ." she said.  
  
"Then. . ." Shippou started. He pointed ahead. "Onward, men! Um. . .friend. . .person. . .thing. . .I'll shut up now. . ."  
  
Kouten hugged Shippou. "Shippou-Chan." She said.  
  
"Ack!" Shippou cried, struggling out of Kouten's grip and running ahead. "C'mon! Onward!" He said more persistently.  
  
"Wait up!" Kouten called, running after him.  
  
They came to the first pond. Shippou stopped in front of the first pond. "Um. . .I. . .think Miroku is drowning. . ." he said.  
  
"EWWWWW!" Kouten shrieked.  
  
"What?" Shippou asked.  
  
"Wait. . .I think he's still breathing. . ." Kouten said.  
  
Shippou sweatdropped. "He's covered in seaweed vine junk too. . ." he said. True, Miroku was about a foot underwater, not lying on the bottom, but not floating on the top either. His eyes were closed. Some sort of blue, glowing seaweed wrapped around his arms, ankles, waist, and throat. There was also a piece of seaweed wrapped around his head.  
  
"Come on, let's get him out of it. . ." Kouten said as she reached in and pulled a long piece of the seaweed out of Miroku's hair.  
  
Shippou poked the nearest piece of seaweed. The seaweed suddenly wrapped around Shippou's wrist and tried to pull him in. "Help!" He yelled, struggling against the seaweed. He turned into a balloon and floated back a couple of feet, free of the seaweed. "Watch out, Kouten! That stuff's dangerous. . ." he said.  
  
Kouten nodded and put a hand on the water's surface. "I'm the demon of rain and storms, but I can also slightly control water. This is something that my sensei, Miss Vivian taught me." She said. The water rippled, then stopped. "I made the water thick. Now the vines are near- frozen and no longer a threat." She said.  
  
Shippou nodded and reached into the water, grabbing a piece of seaweed.  
  
***  
  
Miroku watched in horror as the other him disappeared. Nothing was left but a small black hole, and that soon disappeared too.  
  
"He's gone. . ." Inuyasha said quietly. Raylin and Sango broke out into sobs. The others looked away. Even Kisike was quiet.  
  
"Naraku's going to pay for this! All of this!" Raylin said angrily after a few minutes.  
  
Sango nodded in agreement. "Yes. . .first my brother, now Miroku. . .He's killing everyone I care about. . .He won't get away with this. He will pay." She said.  
  
Miroku looked over at the group. He was pale and trembling slightly. Seeing himself die had been horrifying and shocking. Suddenly he felt a pull. He blinked. He was being pulled back, beginning to fly up into the sky. Suddenly he flew back like he had been shot out of a cannon, then disappeared.  
  
***  
  
Shippou and Kouten-with much effort-pulled Miroku out of the water and onto the path. Kouten peeled the last piece of seaweed off of Miroku, which was the one around his head. Miroku stirred, then coughed. His eyes slowly opened as he sat up. "Where. . ." he started. He looked over at Kouten and Shippou. "Shippou. Kouten." He said.  
  
"Yeah. What were you doing down there?" Shippou demanded. Miroku blinked, then his expression turned serious.  
  
"Lady Kagome is back." He said.  
  
"I noticed."  
  
"What's a Kagome?" Kouten asked.  
  
"We'll explain later." Shippou promised.  
  
"Yes. Have you two helped the others yet?" Miroku asked. Shippou shook his head.  
  
"No. . ." he said.  
  
"Then perhaps we should hurry and do so." Miroku said, thinking back to what he had experienced in his. . .dream? Illusion? There was no way to tell. At least, not for now. . .  
  
They went over to the pond Amanda was in. She was wrapped in the same seaweed as Miroku was. Her eyes were also closed. Kouten did the same thickening spell to the water and began to pull the seaweed off with Shippou and Miroku's help. They began to drag Amanda out of the pond when the seaweed around her head suddenly sparked, hurting Kouten's hand.  
  
"Ow. . ." Kouten whined.  
  
"Are you okay, Kouten?" Shippou asked.  
  
"It hurts. . ." Kouten whined.  
  
"It appears that we can not take it off with our bare hands." Miroku said. He took out a spell scroll and placed it on the seaweed. "Stand back." He said, taking a few steps back. Shippou and Kouten followed.  
  
***  
  
Amanda stood up and looked back at the villagers, who were now crowding around the woman named Kikyo. With her cat hearing, she could tell that Kikyo was bidding the villagers her final farewells. 'But. . .Inuyasha. . .he can't be responsible for all those things she said that she did. . .' Amanda thought.  
  
'Why is he pinned to that tree? How did he get free? Is this truly the past? Or am I merely dreaming?' Amanda wondered. The world suddenly seemed to explode with light. She shut her eyes.  
  
***  
  
Shippou, Kouten, and Miroku watched as the seaweed seemed to explode. They walked over to Amanda as she opened her eyes. "Inuyasha. . .?" she murmured.  
  
"No, but would be happy to assist you if you need any help with. . .whatever you need help with." Miroku said.  
  
Amanda narrowed her eyes at him and began looking around for his staff. . .just in case. "Where are the others?" she asked as she searched.  
  
". . .In the ponds." Miroku said.  
  
". . .Well let's go help them! And where is Inuyasha?"  
  
"I. . .don't know."  
  
". . .Well I say we hurry up, help our friends, and find Inuyasha." Amanda said. "There was this weird girl out looking for him and I think he may be in trou-"  
  
"That was Lady Kagome." Miroku said.  
  
Amanda blinked at him, then shrugged. "I don't care if it's the queen of England. She ain't hurting Inuyasha and that's a fact. Or at least, it'd better be. . ." Amanda said. She stood up. "Now come on. Let's go save the others. We're wasting time." She said, standing up and walking over to the next pond.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *Bridget's voice* Hey, we're going to camp. Seeing as how we can't bring phones with us, I suggest you just leave a review at the sound of the beep. Don't worry, we'll get it-the answering machine is well hidden from Kouga. . .and Kisike too. . . ^ ^; But anyways, like I said, the chapters may be either shorter or take longer to post, but shouldn't be that long. I should have a lot of new material written to my part when I get back, so that's good. I may post one more chapter tomorrow, but that's if we can get some more written up. Well, got to go. See you all on Friday if not tomorrow, and please leave your review at the sound of the beep. *beep sounds* 


	15. The Escape

Author's note- I had a terrible time at camp. Next time I say I'm going, talk me out of it. We had to deal with preps, perverted boys, and a demon that we had to protect at least 300 kids from. We don't own Inuyasha or anything else. I gotta go to school now, so just read.  
  
Raylin was in the next pond in the same state as the Miroku and Amanda had been in. "It's probably like this for all the ponds. . ." Shippou remarked.  
  
"Probably so. . .Lets get her out!" Kouten said, placing the spell on the water. The four pulled Raylin out of the pond and started picking off the seaweed.  
  
***  
  
Raylin was backed up against the truck of a tree as the manticore sneered in her face. Raylin glared as she slowly inched her hand to a stick. She reached it, planning to poke the monster in the eye with it, when suddenly, her hand went right through the stick.  
  
". . .This is not good. . ." she said. "Could this possibly be. . .an illusion?" she wondered.  
  
"Illusion it may be, but if you die here, your physical body dies as well." The manticore informed her. He took another step towards her. Raylin took another step back-and went right into the tree. She was surrounded by darkness when it was suddenly lit by a brilliant flash of light.  
  
***  
  
Raylin opened her eyes slowly. Miroku was crouching next to her and looking down. Suddenly Raylin's hand flew up and hit him in the nose. "Ow!" Miroku cried, falling back. Raylin opened her eyes all the way and sat up.  
  
"Oh, sorry! I thought you were the manticore!" she apologized.  
  
"The. . .what. . .?" Miroku muttered, clutching his nose. Shippou, Kouten, and Amanda were a few feet behind him, snickering.  
  
"The manti. . .oh, forget it." Raylin said. She jumped up and looked around. ". . .Now where is that girl? She is going to pay." She said.  
  
"Um. . .maybe we should save Kisike and Bridget first. . ." Amanda suggested, looking over at the other two ponds.  
  
"Yes, perhaps we should." Miroku said, nodding. He looked over at Raylin, who was -.-'ing. He held his hands up and smiled, trying to look neutral. "Not that I'm saying that saying that your idea is a bad one, Lady Raylin, it's just that we should save our friends before they die." He said.  
  
Raylin sighed. "Okay. Who do we save first?"  
  
"Kisike's pond is the closest!" Kouten called, already putting a spell on the pond.  
  
"Anybody BUT her." Raylin said.  
  
"Well, Kouten already started the spell, so we should get Kisike out." Shippou said.  
  
They started over to Kisike's pond. Kisike was wrapped too. "I wonder what this stuff is." Miroku said as he and the others dragged Kisike out and began taking the seaweed off.  
  
"Radioactive junk, probably." Raylin said.  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. ". . .Did they even have that back in the Feudal Era?" she asked.  
  
"Well, of course! Radiation comes from the sun and other things. Though not as strong, it could still be harmful." Raylin replied.  
  
"Believe me, from what I've seen of Kisike, we don't have to worry about her. She's weird enough." Shippou said.  
  
***  
  
Kisike grimaced as she heard a crack in the door. "Damn it. . .they don't make doors like they used to. . ." she muttered as she looked around the room for a place to hide. She saw some pieces of furniture-that wouldn't help-and. . .an open window. She ran over to the window and looked down to see a three-story jump the moment the door shattered and the lightning poured in.  
  
"Well, no other way. . ." she said, climbing up on the windowsill, her back facing outside. She waited till the lightning was a couple inches from her face, then leaned backwards and fell. "So much for reacting The Matrix! Wow. . .this building is a lot taller than it looks." She said as she fell out the window and down the side of the building. A flash of light suddenly erupted from nowhere.  
  
***  
  
Kisike blinked, now out of the pond she'd fallen in. She blinked up to see Miroku, Shippou, Kouten, Amanda, and Raylin. ". . . Hi!"  
  
A chorus of hellos came from the group. Kisike blinked and looked around. ". . . I'm hungry." She said.  
  
". . .We ate only a few hours ago. . ." Raylin said.  
  
"There wasn't enough for everybody!" Kisike whined.  
  
"That's the whole point, Kisike. There's never enough in life; you'll always be miserable. There's no cake, there's no ice cream, happy birthday."  
  
"Oh. . .Wait. It's not my birthday!"  
  
". . .Merry Christmas."  
  
"It's not Christmas."  
  
"Happy Hanukah!"  
  
"It's not Hanukah!"  
  
"Hey! What are you guys pointlessly arguing about now? We've already begun getting this stuff off of Bridget!" Amanda called to them, everybody else now getting the seaweed off of Bridget.  
  
Kisike and Raylin ran over to the others. Kisike turned to Amanda. "Tell me: Is it my birthday, Christmas, Hanukah, or any other holiday for that matter?" she demanded.  
  
Amanda thought for a moment. "Hm. . .nope." She said. "Now help."  
  
Kisike and Raylin sighed and helped the others.  
  
***  
  
Bridget walked around. She blinked. "Well, um. . .there's no way home that I know of and I'm sure that I haven't even been around half the valley yet." She said, sighing.  
  
She suddenly saw a flash of silver through the trees. She blinked. "Wha. . .?" she asked, her voice trailing off. She could hear whatever it was running off. She decided to follow it. After about five minutes the sound of running stopped. Bridget came to a clearing to see Sesshoumaru sitting in a tree.  
  
"They don't understand. . .nobody does. . ." Sesshoumaru said. He frowned. "Why'd you have to die, Mother?!" he demanded. All he got for reply was the wind. "I can still remember. . .she fell prey to the same illness attacking the human mother. . .demons could fight off most diseases, but not this one. . ." he said.  
  
There was a flash of light, lighting up the shadows of the forest.  
***  
Bridget opened her eyes and sat up. "Um. . .where are we?" she asked, looking around.  
  
Kisike jumped up and started running in circles around the group. "Wheee!"  
  
Everyone sweatdropped. Bridget raised an eyebrow. "Landshark. . ." she said.  
  
Raylin peeled a leftover piece of vine out of her hair. "Nasty stuff. . ." she said.  
  
Kisike threw a vine at Raylin. "I smite thee!"  
  
Raylin growled and chased Kisike. "Eeee!" Kisike cried, running away.  
  
Everyone suddenly heard a shout toward the house. Amanda's ears perked up. "That sounded like the girl that chased me into the ponds. . ." she said.  
  
Kisike then ran back. "Oooh. . .I think I hear a party. . .WHY DIDN'T WE GET INVITED?! Blast that host. . .I smite. . .them too!" she ranted.  
  
Miroku sighed. "Kagome. . .she's returned from the afterworld. . ."  
  
"You mean the afterLIFE?"  
  
"You mean that woman is a zombie form of the after life and she's trying to come and kill Inuyasha?" Amanda asked, shocked.  
  
Bridget took a few steps forward. "But. . .how did she come back from the dead. . .?" she asked.  
  
"She must die. . .again." Amanda said, running towards the house and leaving a cloud of dust.  
  
Kisike glared at everyone. "Alright! Who's been having a séance-hey!" she cried, getting lost in the dust cloud. She coughed, then ran after Amanda. "I smite you too Amanda!"  
  
Everyone sweatdropped. Raylin grabbed her fallen bow and arrows. "Wait for me. . .you guys aren't getting all the glory. . ." she said, following.  
  
"And yet again, all the grown-ups run off to save the world without so much as a 'thank you'." Shippou sighed.  
  
Miroku coughed. "I guess we follow them. . ." he said.  
  
"Shippou. . ." Kouten said, hugging Shippou again.  
  
"Ack!" Shippou cried. He struggled and finally managed to get out of Kouten's grip.  
  
Bridget turned to Shippou and Kouten. "You two stay here. It may be too dangerous for you." She said.  
  
"Hey! We saved your butts from that nasty seaweed and braved those ponds to save you guys and you can't even say thank you much less accompany you in battle?" Kouten demanded.  
  
"Um. . .thanks?" Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Thank you, but can we still come?" Kouten asked, smiling.  
  
".No." Bridget said.  
  
"Please?" Kouten begged.  
  
Bridget sighed. ". . .We're wasting time. Come on, Miroku." She said, following Amanda, Kisike, and Raylin.  
  
Kouten pouted and Shippou sighed.  
  
*At the battle*  
  
Amanda, Kisike, and Raylin arrived at the battle. Kisike immediately pointed at Kagome. "Whooo arrre yoooou?" she demanded.  
  
"And what have you done to Inuyasha?!" Amanda demanded.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. ". . .He's right over there. . ." she said, pointing at Inuyasha, who was lying on the ground and barely conscious.  
  
Kagome turned to Kisike. ". . .Aren't you supposed to be drowning right now?" she asked. She turned to Amanda. "And the same goes to you. . ."  
  
"Well, us cats have nine lives. . ." Amanda pointed out.  
  
Kagome smirked. "Yeah, so they say." She said, walking over to her dagger. She picked it up. "But there's also the saying: There's more than one way to skin a cat."  
  
Amanda moved into fighting stance, her claws sliding forward and her ears pinned back. "Just try it and I'll slit your throat. . ." she said.  
  
Sigaru sweatdropped. "Oh great. . .cat fight. . ." he said. He turned to Inuyasha. Okay, you've gotten soft. Not only are you hanging out with people, you're hanging out with. . .cats?"  
  
"Um. . .he kinda can't hear you. . .from the looks of it. . .yeah." Raylin said.  
  
"Amanda, stay away.Kagome, don't hurt her. . ." Inuyasha moaned lightly.  
  
"Oh look! He thinks I can actually hurt you. . ." Kagome said. She turned to Amanda. "You hear that? He thinks I can beat you up. And I can, considering that I have human wit and intelligence, not to mention my miko powers."  
  
Amanda growled. "You just try to lay a finger on my friends and I will rip out your still beating heart and hold it in front of your face. . ."  
  
"Don't you wish. . ." Kagome said. She then put away her dagger and took out her bow and an arrow instead. "I believe this is more useful. . .not only against dog demons, but cat demons too. . ." she said.  
  
Amanda growled and tensed up.  
  
Raylin took out her own bow and arrow and aimed it Kagome. "Oh yeah? I bet this works against you, too." She said. Kagome didn't know that Raylin could barely aim, but.  
  
"You see. . .you are outnumbered five to one. . ." Amanda pointed out.  
  
Kagome blinked, thought for a moment, then laughed. "Just try it. You probably don't even know how to use it. I know it took me a while just to learn how." She said to Raylin.  
  
Amanda lunged at Kagome. "Just shut up. . ." she yelled.  
  
Kagome disappeared and reappeared in the air. "Oh, did I mention that I was fast?" she asked, landing on Amanda's head and jumping into a tree branch. "Anyways, I've done what I came here to do, which was to kill Inuyasha. So I suppose that my work here is done." She said. She then ran off.  
  
Amanda growled angrily. "Get back here, coward!" she yelled, running after her. She came back seconds later angrily. "She got away. . ." she said. She turned to Sigaru. "And who are you and what are you doing here?!"  
"Well, I came here to kill Inuyasha, but. . ." Sigaru said, his voice trailing off. He looked around, estimating his odds against the group. Two cat demons armed with sharp claws and an elf armed with a bow and arrow.  
  
"I told you it was this way." A voice said as the door to the temple opened. Miroku, Shippou, Kouten, and Bridget walked out.  
  
Sigaru frowned as he saw his odds of winning lessen. Also, the redheaded girl looked somewhat familiar. . .  
  
Obviously, the girl thought the same of him. She frowned, then circled him twice. "No. . .it couldn't be. . .could it?" she muttered. Suddenly she pointed at him. "I know you! You're Dwayne."  
  
Sigaru grinned. "How did you ever guess? And who are you?" he asked. Instead of replying, the girl kicked him in the shin. "Ow!" he cried.  
  
"That's for picking on Heather, Sarah, and I in the cafeteria. I didn't have time to kick you then. And it's Bridget." The girl said.  
  
"Your kicks are a lot harder when you're a demon. . ." Sigaru whined, clutching his shin.  
  
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kisike yelled as she ran around in circles. Sigaru blinked.  
  
"Uh. Huh?" He blinked again. " Hmph. Stand still so you'll have a painless death, baka! I'm going to kill all of you! Starting with that stupid half-breed right there!" He pointed at Inuyasha. Kisike and Amanda and Bridget looked around. "Right there!" He yelled, a little less forcedly. They looked around again. " Right there." He sweatdropped, still pointing at Inuyasha. Bridget nodded.  
  
"Oh." She muttered.  
  
"But..YOU are a STUPID halfbreed as well! YOU HIPPO.CRIT!" Kisike yelled. Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"YOU'RE the stupid one. Besides, what does hypocrite mean?!" Sigaru demanded.  
  
"I'M the stupid one?! YOU'RE the one who don't know what HYPOCRITE means! Mew. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"It means that you aren't going to lay a finger on Inuyasha, you jerk. . ." Amanda said to Sigaru.  
  
"What is a hippo crat?" Kouten asked, puzzled.  
  
"I dunno, but it sounds like some kind of bird or something. . ." Shippou said.  
  
"I'm not a bird, I'm a dog demon. So there." Sigaru said.  
  
"Baka Inu." Kisike said. She picked up a stick and threw it. "FETCH BOY!" she yelled. Sigaru caught the stick and walked over to Kisike, then started bashing her over the head with it.  
  
"I'm already pissed off by Kagome stabbing Inuyasha and running off. . .but you could make a nice punching bag, Dwayne. . ." Amanda growled.  
  
"Ow!" Kisike yelled. She slashed her claws upwards, slicing the stick into pieces. She licked his hand.  
  
Sigaru wiped his hand on Kisike's outfit. "I would like to see you try. I'm a lot tougher than all of you. Oh, and It's Sigaru." He said to Amanda, smirking.  
  
Amanda was mad. She shouted, "Kisike! How can I threaten this guy with you licking his hand?!"  
  
"Uhm. . .I dunno. . .but. . ." Kisike started. She punched Sigaru in the nose. "YOU SHOULDN'T TOUCH PEOPLE THERE! FREAK!"  
  
"Ow.Geez, I only wiped it on your arm." Sigaru said, clutching his nose.  
  
"Yeah, but you shouldn't touch people at all. . .GET AWAY FROM ME!" Kisike said.  
  
Amanda moved into fighting stance. "I don't think you can handle all of us, baka." She said.  
  
Sigaru glared at Amanda. "Yeah right. I can. Besides, you're all just a bunch of girls. . ." he said.  
  
Miroku stomped up to him. "I take that into offense! GHASTLY DEMON!" he yelled, whacking him in the head with his staff. (J/N: Don't ask. . .we were on sugar high. . .)  
  
"Hey, Miroku, let me see that. . ." Amanda said, grabbing Miroku's staff. Miroku blinked.  
  
"But-"  
  
"You see, you have to do it harder. . ." Amanda said, hitting Sigaru on the head as hard as she could. "Take that!"  
  
Sigaru knocked the staff out of the way and jumped to the side but didn't land. "Well it was meant as an offense, Priestman!" he said to Miroku. To Amanda he said, "And you're just a stupid cat. . ."  
  
"I am but a simple monk." Miroku said.  
  
"Bullshit." Raylin said.  
  
"GHASTLY."  
  
"-.- I know him from school. . .trust me, he's this stupid in our world too. . ." Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Keep staring and I might do a trick, Sigaru. . .more like slit your stomach open. and rip out your still beating heart. . ." Amanda said to Sigaru.  
  
Kisike glanced around. "..Hey. . .gore is MY area of expertise. Get out." she said.  
  
"I'm trying to talk. . ." Amanda said, to Kisike, annoyed. To Sigaru she said, "Get out of here Sigaru. . .I'm warning you. . ."  
  
Sigaru landed. "Yeah, like you could." He said.  
  
"I warned him not to make my friends mad back in our world. . .but he didn't listen. . ." Bridget sighed.  
  
Amanda looked over at Bridget. "Hey Brid. . .how good was this guy's fighting ability in our world?" she asked.  
  
Kisike pulled on Sigaru's ears. "Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna cut your throat with my nails here. Then I'm gonna slice your stomach open with your own weapon, and watch as your organs spill out of your body and onto the ground. Then I'm gonna take my claws again and crack your skull in half, then feed your brain juice to some gullible humans. Then I'm gonna take out your heart and mail it to your parents in the other world. How's that sound?" (J/N: Okay! I think you've read a little too much Johnny the Homicidal Maniac! *takes Kisike's JtHM comic book and away*) (K/N: ;_;)  
  
". . .You need to stop reading Stephen King, 'Sike."  
  
". . .Uh. . .I don't. . ."  
  
"Well then, stop talking."  
  
"Okay! MEW!"  
  
". . .Stop it. . ."  
  
Amanda sighed. "Bridget!" she said. Bridget looked over at her.  
  
". . .Well, he says he's like, a green belt in Jujitsu, but I don't believe him. . ." she replied.  
  
". . .Uh. . ." Miroku said.  
  
"He sure does lie a lot, doesn't he. . .but there is one thing that you need to know about me, Sigaru. . .I never break my promises and I always keep my word. . ." Amanda said. She launched a punch at Sigaru. "This if for pissing me off!" She yelled.  
  
Sigaru dodged and held up his hands. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm not gonna kill Inuyasha right now! He's wounded. Let me explain."  
  
". . ." Kisike blinked, then pushed him over and stood on his back. "I WIN!" she said, grinning.  
  
Sigaru's eyebrow twitched as he sat up.  
  
"YAY!" Kisike yelled, clinging to his back. "PIGGY BACK RIDE!"  
  
". . .I'm not explaining until she gets off of me. . ." Sigaru said.  
  
"Kisike, you are starting to get on my last nerve. . .so GET OFF!" Amanda yelled.  
  
"..Merf. . .Meow!" Kisike said. She grinned again. "He said he wouldn't kill him right now. . .what more do you need to know? FINE." She said, grumbling and hopping into a tree. From on the ground, they could hear her say, "Touchy. . .sheesh. . ."  
  
Sigaru sweatdropped. "Anyways, you see, Inuyasha and I are rivals in strength. We have been since we were kids." He started.  
  
"My spider senses are tingling! FLASHBACK?! GHASTLY!" Kisike yelled, mimicking the Spiderman video game.  
  
"I thought Inuyasha didn't have any other family besides Sesshoumaru. . ." Amanda said.  
  
"What?" Sigaru asked.  
  
"Well, I remember Myoga saying that this place was hidden to everyone except family-" Amanda started.  
  
Sigaru blinked. "That old flea is still alive? Geez, he should be long dead by now. But this place-Inuyasha's home-was hidden from most HUMANS. I'm half demon, and some demons knew how to get here. My father, who was a dog demon, was friends with Inu-Youkai, Inuyasha's father. That's how Inuyasha and I first met. We're not related." He said.  
  
"ANYWAYS, back to the subject, I won't kill him right now since he's unable to fight." He assured them.  
  
". . .Freak. . .I mean. . .MEW!" Kisike said. Amanda sweatdropped.  
  
"Oh." She said.  
  
"Like I said, I met him when we were kids. We were friends for a while. . .then we became rivals. . ." Sigaru continued.  
  
"But if you and Inuyasha were friends, wouldn't that make you older than him? I mean, he was pinned to a tree for fifty years. . ." Miroku asked as he made a compress of Inuyasha's injury and stopped the blood loss. Amanda walked over.  
  
"Well, when I was Inuyasha's age, I was a hired thief. I was well known for stealth." Sigaru said.  
  
"Like kitsunes." Shippou said.  
  
Sigaru nodded. "Well, I had one client who wanted me to steal some kind of statue from a temple. I did and got my payment, which was aging as slow as a full demon. Only, what I didn't know was that there was a consequence. When I used the object-which looked nothing more than a simple ball-to give me this, I got split into two people, and now I'm stuck in that other dimension and this one. I'm known as Sigaru here, and Dwayne there."  
  
"Who was this client of yours?" Miroku asked.  
  
"His name was. . ." Sigaru paused for a moment, trying to remember the name. "Oh yeah. Naraku. After I got him his statue, I never saw him again."  
  
"Naraku!"  
  
"Um, guys? Can we maybe get Inuyasha inside? He ain't looking too good and we can talk about it in there." Amanda said.  
  
The others nodded. Amanda picked up Inuyasha and carried him inside as the others followed.  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on* Gotta go! Leave a review! Bye! *beep sounds* 


	16. Biscuit!

Author's Note- Hi peoples. . .we're back, and with a new chapter. We've been busy. Projects, demons, and lots of other stuff. . .we have gotten two Shikon shards lately. . .but that's about it. We still don't own Inuyasha, but we hopefully will soon. Now, enjoy the fic!  
  
Inuyasha groaned as they set him down. "How do we get rid of the poison?" Amanda asked.  
  
Sigaru stared at Inuyasha for a few seconds. "Hm. . .The signs-which is fever, trembling, shallow breathing, dilated eyes, and black blood from the wound-says it's Skullcap poison mixed with Yage. Yage causes terrifying hallucinations and Skullcap poison is your basic deadly poison. There's no cure for this. He's going to die." He replied. He glared. "And I'm going to kill that woman for killing my rival. That was my job!" he said.  
  
Nobody seemed to notice as Sigaru ranted on about his revenge. Suddenly Miroku's eyes lit up as he grabbed a small book that was lying on the other side of the room and scanned it. "There is a cure to it!" He said suddenly. Everybody looked at him. "We need wivertail grass, basil, whortle root, thistle, bindwood, borate, and coriander." He said.  
  
"What, what, and what?" Kisike asked, blinking.  
  
Miroku repeated the ingredients to the antidote.  
  
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go find it!" Raylin said, getting up and starting for the door.  
  
"Not so fast, Raylin." Bridget said, grabbing the back Raylin's shirt. "We've never heard of most of this stuff in our lives, and we have no clue where it is and what it looks like." She said.  
  
"Then what can we do?" Amanda asked quietly. She glared and stood up. "I'm not going to just stand here and watch Inuyasha die. Maybe looking for ingredients to the antidote is an impossible mission, maybe not. It doesn't matter. If he dies, at least I can say that I tried saving him instead of giving up hope." She said.  
  
Everybody stared at her. Then Shippou piped up, "I can help! When my mother was alive, she was a healer and taught me all there was to know about these kind of poisons."  
  
"Me too!" Kouten said. "My mother taught me about medicinal herbs and such, too!"  
  
"I've heard of these plants, and I know for a fact that they're all in this valley. I can help out." Sigaru said.  
  
"So can I. I do know of the plants used to cure this poison." Miroku said.  
  
"We'll need someone to stay here. Just in case something happens." Raylin said.  
  
"I will." Amanda said. "I'll see if I can maybe get his fever down or something."  
  
"Good. Just remember, be alert and whatever you do, do not go near those ponds."  
  
"Believe me, going near those ponds again is the last thing I'm going to do."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Remember to be careful, though. When Kagome was alive, she was a very tricky girl. She had and still has miko powers, and now she has youkai powers added to that. She's mad and she may still be in the area. She may come back to finish Inuyasha off." Miroku reminded her. Amanda nodded.  
  
"I will."  
  
Miroku turned to Sigaru. "Now, you say you've heard of these plants; do you know what they look like?"  
  
Sigaru nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Then we'll need to go in a pairs."  
  
"I'll go with Kisike! We can get the basil and whortle root!" Kouten said. Kisike sweatdropped.  
  
".Little brat." she said.  
  
"I am not a brat!" Kouten said. "Be stormy!"  
  
A little rain cloud appeared over Kisike. Kisike sighed. "Be happy again." Kouten said. The rain cloud disappeared.  
  
"I'll go with Bridget. We can get the coriander and thistle." Shippou said.  
  
"I'll get the wivertail grass and borate and go with Miroku, then." Raylin said. "It's better than going with Sigaru."  
  
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "It's better going with a pervert than an idiot? What kind of logic is that?" she asked.  
  
"It's not logic at all! Logic does not exist! Haha!" Kisike said. Everybody stared at her.  
  
". . .Kisike, I think this would be a good time to tell everyone that you'll be quiet now. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"Never! I want Gabriiii. . ." Kisike whined.  
  
"We're probably going to see him again once we get the flute back from Sekkai." Amanda said.  
  
"Yay!"  
  
"Now get out of here and get those ingredients before Inuyasha dies!"  
  
"Awww. . ." Kisike said. She walked over to the door. ". . .Come on, brat." She said to Kouten.  
  
She and Kouten left, hearing Kouten yell every now and then, "I'm not a brat!" Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
"No other people to stop them, no peace among themselves. . .how long do you think it'll take them to kill each other?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Oh, I'd say about an hour or so. . ." Miroku said. Raylin nodded.  
  
"That's. . .probably about right. Now let's go." She said. She and Miroku left.  
  
Bridget and Shippou walked over to the door. Before they left, Bridget stopped and looked over her shoulder at Sigaru. "You're gonna be all right going out there and looking by yourself, right?" she asked.  
  
"I was all by myself before I met you guys. I'll be fine." Sigaru said, running ahead of them and into the forest. Bridget turned to Shippou.  
  
"Alright, then, Shippou. Let's go." Bridget said. Shippou nodded and they went outside. "Be careful!" she called to Amanda, who was closing the door.  
  
Amanda nodded and shut the door. Bridget and Shippou went into the forest.  
  
***  
  
Kouten looked around. ". . .We're lost." She said.  
  
Kisike sighed. "We are not lost, we're just temporarily misplaced forever." She said.  
  
Kouten looked around. Suddenly she spotted a river. "Hey, look! It's a river! Let's go!" she said, running over to the river.  
  
"Hey, brat! Wait up!" Kisike yelled, running after her. They stopped at the edge of the river. ". . .Now what?" She demanded.  
  
"First we ask how to get back. Second, we gather some whortle root." Kouten said.  
  
She kneeled down and poked the water, creating a ripple of light across the surface of the water. A fish swam up to the surface. Kouten smiled. "Hello." She said.  
  
"Kouten, now's not the time to be talking to fish. . ." Kisike groaned.  
  
Kouten frowned at her. "Shhh! Be quiet!" she said. She turned back to the fish. "Now, do you know how we can get to Inu-Youkai's house?"  
  
The fish hit the water with its tail a few times, creating ripples of light. Kouten nodded. "Uh huh, uh huh, I see. . ." she said. Kisike's eyebrows furrowed slightly and she looked around.  
"..Uh. . ." She said, glancing around some more. "I have no peanut butter.." Kouten looked at her. "..Erm. . .Nothin'." Kisike sighed. Kouten shrugged and looked back to the fish. Kisike sweatdropped. "She's talking to a fish. . .why me?"  
After a few more minutes of talking to the fish, Kouten stood up, nodded and looked around for Kisike. She saw her sitting under a nearby tree and walked over to her, stood there, then poked her forehead. Kisike leapt to her feet and grinned, pointing to the sky.  
"BISCUIT!!!!!!" She yelled to no one in particular. Kouten fell over.  
"Whaaaaaat?"  
***  
  
Gabriel looked up sharply as he heard someone yell 'biscuit'. He blinked, looked around, and then shook his head. "Oh, God."  
  
***  
  
Kisike grinned. "Nothin." She said.  
  
"You're weird." Kouten said as she walked up a rock, jumped off, and landed in a little patch of purple flowers.  
  
"I'm not the one that talks to fish." Kisike retorted, following. "By the way, now's not the time to be playing in the flowers, brat."  
  
"These flowers are whortle flowers. We need the roots to these and then we need to find some basil." Kouten replied, picking some flowers- roots and all-and sticking her tongue out at Kisike.  
  
"Hey!" Kisike yelled.  
  
"Come on an help me get some of this stuff!" Kouten yelled.  
  
"Okay, okay. . ." Kisike said, picking a flower and making sure the roots came out with it. "Now, let's go."  
  
***  
  
Kagome finally got to a cave that was in the side of one of the mountains in the valley. She walked in, a smirk on her face. She finally got to a huge dome area in the cave where on the far side it began to branch out. In the center of the dome was a small figure. The figure wore a black robe and cloak. He had red glowing eyes. The same figure that Kisike saw. . .  
  
"Well, how'd I do?" Kagome asked cheerfully, setting her quiver and bow up against the wall.  
  
"Foolish girl." The cloaked figure rasped.  
  
Kagome looked up from her things. "Huh?" she asked.  
  
"Do you really think you killed him?" The figure demanded.  
  
"Well yeah." Kagome said. She looked over at him. Her heart sank. "You mean. . .I didn't?" she asked. She frowned. "Oh, come on! He's half human for Pete's sake! The dagger I used was dipped in skullcap poison! That had to have killed even him!"  
  
"Well it hasn't, not just yet." The figure looked over at Kagome. "But that's not all. The four girls are alive too. Why are they still alive?!"  
  
Kagome shrugged. "I don't have a problem with them. Why should I care if they're dead or not? Without Inuyasha, they'll probably just wander around aimlessly and get killed by a bunch of freaked-out villagers or bloodthirsty demon. Besides, I was outnumbered!"  
  
"That's no excuse! I want those girls dead!" the figure yelled.  
  
Kagome glared at him. "Not until I kill Inuyasha. Look, I'm not your slave or anything! If I want revenge or something, it's not going to be by your orders. I am not your personal assassin!"  
  
The figure was silent. Kagome walked over to him. "Hey! Are you listening to me?!" she demanded. She grabbed the hood that prevented her from seeing his face. "Hey!"  
  
The figure's red eyes suddenly glowed bright as black lightning engulfed the girl. Kagome's eyes widened and she screamed as she hovered about five feet in the air, the lightning jumping around her, burning her skin.  
  
Then suddenly, it was over. She found herself lying on the cold floor of the cave, a smoking heap. The figure looked down at her. Kagome looked up with empty eyes.  
  
"You can't. . .make me kill them. I don't want to kill Inuyasha. . .I know I died trying to protect him. . .and now. . .and now. . ."  
  
"And now you're dead. When did all these memories back? Why don't you want to kill him? He killed you." The figure said.  
  
"No. . .he didn't. . .I remember what happened. I remember that it's Sesshoumaru who killed me. . ."  
  
"But it was Inuyasha that wanted you dead and didn't save you."  
  
"He tried. . .he just couldn't do it. . .it's not his fault. Please, don't make me kill him." Kagome begged, tears beginning to stream down her face.  
  
The figure stared coldly down at the girl. Kagome suddenly healed, all the burns and injuries disappearing. "Get up." He said. Kagome shuddered. "I said, get up." He ordered, his voice more forceful.  
  
Kagome slowly, reluctantly stood up. The figure put a bony, wrinkled hand on her face and then brought it away. Kagome stared at him, then dried her tears. She two more teardrops fell, but these were bright red. Tears of blood.  
  
She wiped these away too and glared at him as if nothing happened. "What just happened?!" she demanded. "Why did you nearly burn me to a crisp right now?!"  
  
"Did what. . .?" the figure asked, pretending to be confused. "Why would I kill you after spending all that time and effort to bring you back to life?" he asked.  
  
Kagome blinked. "What. . .I guess you're right. . .I'm not making any sense, am I?"  
  
"No, you're not. Now, you didn't kill Inuyasha and his friends yet. I want you to go out there and do a better job this time. It shouldn't be too hard; Inuyasha's unconscious and weak, and only in the care of the girl that tried chasing you. The others are wandering around the forest, trying to find the herbs that will cure Inuyasha. They're in pairs, and one-the other dog demon-is even alone. I want you to use this opportunity to kill them, what with it being so easy this time. Or is this something that you cannot handle?"  
  
Kagome picked up her bow and quiver. "Please. This is child's play now. They'll be dead before dawn." She said arrogantly, walking out of the cave.  
  
The figure stared after her. 'So, I suppose I made a couple of mistakes when I brought her back to life. The brainwashing isn't permanent; it flickers on and off. I suppose this is to be expected when I'm in this state. I haven't reached my full power yet, and all of this is tiring to me, not to mention frustrating. But those girls need to die, or else all of my plans will be ruined. They cannot be allowed to find out their true power. . .they cannot! I have planned far too long for this. . .far too long. Kagome had better succeed." He said, disappearing.  
  
***  
  
"So, what does the plants that we're looking for look like?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Um. . ." Shippou started. He looked around. "Too dark around here to see. . ." he grumbled. He saw some thistle and grabbed it. "Ouch! Prickly." he whined.  
  
"You okay?" Bridget asked. "Here." She said, pulling the thistle out of the ground. "Ow. . .Okay, now where do we find the coriander?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure. . .It looks like moss only with purple flowers on it. We need the stems." Shippou said.  
  
"Hm. . .Well maybe if-" Bridget paused for a minute as she heard something a little far off. "Shippou, did you hear that?"  
  
"Yeah. . ." Shippou said.  
  
"It's coming. . .fast, too. . ." Bridget said.  
  
Shippou yelped as something silver and white streaked by him. Bridget unsheathed her sword (she had gotten a sheath from the last village) and looked around. Sesshoumaru appeared in front of them. "Well, if it isn't the brat and the fairy hanyou. . ." he said.  
  
Shippou hid behind Bridget. "Eep! S-Sesshoumaru. . ." he squeaked.  
  
Bridget glared at him. "What do you want?" She demanded.  
  
"He's just a stupid dog demon and a big bully." Shippou said, trying to sound brave even if he really wasn't.  
  
"I'm here to kill you." Sesshoumaru said to Bridget, ignoring Shippou.  
  
"Shippou," Bridget asked Shippou, "how strong is he?"  
  
"You're FIGHTING him?!" Shippou asked in disbelief.  
  
"Just answer the question." Bridget said.  
  
"He killed Kagome and he's almost killed Inuyasha numerous times and now he's going to kill us!" Shippou said.  
  
Bridget sheathed her sword. "That's what I thought. . ." she said. To Sesshoumaru she said, "Fine. Kill me. But let Shippou go." She said. "I heard your little conversation with Naraku. I know that Naraku wants my friends and I dead for whatever reasons, but you don't really care."  
  
Also, from what I hear, Naraku has a bunch of brainless minions working for him. So go ahead and kill me, but you'll be throwing away your pride in the process. Kill me, and you'll be doing just what he says and be just another pawn, another brainless minion of his."  
  
"Yeah! What she said. . ." Shippou agreed meekly.  
  
". . ." Sesshoumaru stared at them.  
  
"Okay, I'll be quiet now. . ."  
  
Bridget reached down and grabbed Shippou's hand. "Now, this is where we run. . ." she muttered to Shippou. She turned and ran, Shippou still holding onto her hand for dear life and flying through the air with swirly eyes.  
  
"Tree, tree, tree!" Shippou shouted as he saw a tree in front of them. Bridget dodged it.  
  
"Don't worry; I think I have night vision!" Bridget said.  
  
"Well that's good to know. . ." Shippou said, back to being swirly- eyed.  
  
"Hey, is Sesshoumaru following us?"  
  
Shippou looked back. "Um. . .nope." He said.  
  
"Yay! Then I really can use reverse psychology!"  
  
"Reverse psy-what?"  
  
". . .Never mind."  
  
***  
  
Sesshoumaru stood and watched the retreating demons. He smirked and shook his head. "She thinks she's confused me, probably." He said. "She's smart, I'll give her that; she almost succeeded." He turned away and walked into the darker depths of the forest. "Until next time. . .fairy hanyou."  
  
***  
  
"Ahhh!" Shippou yelled. While they were running, Shippou had managed to climb onto Bridget's shoulder.  
  
"What is it?!" Bridget cried, looking over her shoulder while she was still running.  
  
"Turn back! Turn back! We've got to get away from here!" Shippou shouted.  
  
"Is it Sesshoumaru?!"  
  
"No! Worse! It's-"  
  
Bridget and Shippou crashed into Kisike and Kouten. "Ouch. . ." Bridget whined.  
  
". . .Okay, whoever has just crashed into me is going to pay." Kisike said, standing up and dusting herself off.  
  
"I've already paid." Bridget groaned, wincing at the bump on her head. Kisike blinked and helped her up. ". . .Thanks."  
  
"No prob." Kisike said.  
  
"Shippou-Chan!" Kouten exclaimed, jumping up and hugging Shippou until he turned blue.  
  
"Help. . .she's squeezing me to death. . ." Shippou gasped.  
  
Kisike and Bridget both looked down at the couple, blinking. "Uh. . ." Bridget started.  
  
"So, what's up with all the running? You aren't turning into a speed demon, are you?" Kisike joked. (J/N: Yes, I know. . .bad pun. . . ; )  
  
Bridget shook her head. "No. You see. . ." she started. She looked down at Kouten and Shippou. She lowered her voice. "We ran into Sesshoumaru a little while ago. He wants to kill us. We ran."  
  
"You mean you met Fluffy again? Did you get his tail for me?" Kisike asked.  
  
Bridget sighed and sweatdropped. "-.-; No, 'Sike, we did not get his tail for you."  
  
"Awww. . ." Kisike whined. She grinned. "I'll bet he didn't kill you or go after you because he's your boyfriend." She teased.  
  
"Will you shut up?! He's not my boyfriend!" Bridget said, both eyes and cheeks turning red from embarrassment.  
  
"Yeah right. 'I like Fluffy' is written all over your face." Kisike shot back.  
  
". . .You've been watching Yu Yu Hakusho too much. That's Boton's quote."  
  
"Bingo!"  
  
". . .Stop acting like Boton. It's scary."  
  
"Well, she is the grim reaper. And I am Shinigami. So it all works out." Kisike said. She blinked. "I need an oar! And a kimono! A pink one! Hm. . .maybe I can get the oar painted pink. . ." she wondered.  
  
Bridget sighed and rolled her eyes. "Boton doesn't have a pink oar."  
  
"So what? She needs one." Kisike said. "Lets see, then I can get a Gir picture on it. . .I wonder if you need a license for flying an oar. . ."  
  
"I'm sure you do."  
  
"Hm. . .maybe if I don't do the whole oar thing, I can dress up like Duo! Shinigami! I'll braid my hair, steal his hat, and steal his Gundam to fly around in!"  
  
Bridget -.-'d. "Stick with the Boton idea. I think that's more likely to come true than you flying around Duo's Gundam."  
  
"Okiedokie!"  
  
Shippou and Kouten stared up at them. "Adults are weird. . ." Kouten said.  
  
"For once, I agree." Shippou agreed.  
  
Answering machine- *answering machine comes on* Well, how's that? We're still trying to get more written up. . .hey, don't worry, we're working on it. *Kisike's voice comes on* Hey, it's my turn! Okay . . .Hey, I wonder what it would be like to swim in jello. . .oh well. Review. Bye! 


	17. Battle of Hearts

Author's Note-Guess what! We've got more written up! Don't worry, we don't tend on abandoning this fanfic anytime soon. We don't own Inuyasha or anything else mentioned in here. . .but anyways, here's the next chapter. ^_^  
  
"Inuyasha, you're going to be okay. . .don't worry. . ." Amanda said. She sighed, looking around and rubbing her arm a little nervously, not sure of how much truth her words held in them. She shook her head, then looked back to Inuyasha, smiling as she brought a hand up to brush his bangs away from his eyes, her fingertips tracing across his forehead. Her shoulders slumped slightly as her eyes lowered to the floor and she let out an exasperated sigh, scooting around to pull Inuyasha up to lean against her, his head on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him, hands still, resting on his steadily rising and falling chest. Her eyes filled with glassy tears as she buried her nose in Inuyasha's hair, breathing in deeply, yet a little shakily.  
  
Her shoulders trembled slightly as she shut her eyes tightly. As her eyes closed, a thin stream of tears trailed over and down her cheek. She shook her head slightly, nose still buried in Inuyasha's hair as she tightened her grip on him, hands fisting in the front of his shirt.  
  
"This is the second time. . ." She murmured, brushing her lips lightly over the back of his ear, causing it to twitch forward slightly, then back against her cheek.  
  
"The second time I've been afraid of losing you." Her eyes opened slightly, shoulders shaking violently now as she choked back a sob, tilting her head to press her forehead to the back of Inuyasha's head.  
  
" You can't keep doing this. . .It's not fair. . .you can't just keep threatening to leave me every few days. . ." She sighed again, bringing her head back up to prop her chin up on the top of the Inu-hanyou's head.  
  
"Please don't leave me. . ." She whispered, closing her eyes tightly once more.  
  
Inuyasha opened his eyes slowly, nose twitching as Amanda pulled back slightly, hearing his breathing change. Inuyasha blinked once, breath catching in his throat as he tilted his head back and looked at Amanda. Amanda opened her eyes and leaned back slightly, blinking tears from her eyes as she looked back at him. She gasped softly, seeing that his eyes were clouded.  
  
"Inuyasha. . .?" She asked hesitantly. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, staggering slightly. Amanda jerked backwards, standing as well. Inuyasha spun around to face her, eyes narrowing slightly. Amanda gasped and stepped back, eyes widening as she saw the look in Inuyasha's eyes.  
  
"I. . .Inuyasha. . .?" She asked again as the said demon took a step forward, holding his hand out, palm up, fingers rigid and nails sharpened. Amanda shivered slightly, then yelped as Inuyasha sped forward, arm out stretched as he charged her, claws barely nicking her right cheek as she dodged. Amanda put her hand on the small cut. She drew her hand away to see blood. "Inuyasha. . .I don't understand. . .what did I do? What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes filled with tears.  
  
Inuyasha didn't seem to hear as he got into fighting stance. "Inuyasha, stop this! I don't want to hurt you! Besides, you're wounded already!" Amanda cried.  
  
Inuyasha charged at her again. Amanda dodged. 'What is wrong with him?!' she wondered. She prepared to dodge again and thought, 'Whatever it is, I have a feeling that he doesn't even know that he's doing this. I can't hurt him. . .I'll just have to keep dodging him. He's hurt and that'll slow him down. But I don't know how long he's going to keep this up, and I can't dodge him forever. I'll just have to hope that the others get here soon to restrain him.' She said as she dodged another swipe.  
  
***  
  
Sigaru walked around the forest, looking for bindwood. "Alright, where the hell is the stuff. . .?" he muttered. He sighed and leaned against a tree. Suddenly it opened up halfway and trapped all but his head in the tree, squeezing him to death.  
  
"Well, I think I've found it." He said, smirking. His smirk fell. "Now how to keep this tree from killing me. . ." he said thoughtfully. He came up with an idea. He cut his hand slightly and put the blood on one finger. He pointed it at the wood. "Blood daggers." He said. The blood glowed red as it shot through the wood and made a hole large enough for his fist to fit through. That was big enough.  
  
He stuck his arm out and sliced the wood with his claws. "I would make this my supply of firewood for this year, but," he said as he stepped out and picked up some pieces of wood, "I need this for something else!" He ran back to the house.  
  
***  
  
Raylin looked around. "Okay, so where's the withertail grass?" she asked. They had already gotten the borate. Miroku sighed.  
  
"It's wivertail grass." He said.  
  
"Whatever. How much time does Inuyasha have to live?"  
  
"A couple of hours at least. . ." Miroku said. He looked up at the sky. "It's almost dawn. Probably by morning. . ."  
  
"Then lets hurry up and get this stuff." Raylin said. Miroku looked around and pointed to a patch of tall grass.  
  
"I believe that's wivertail grass." He said. Raylin nodded and they went over to the grass. Miroku's hand began to near Raylin's butt when Raylin suddenly reached up threateningly, as if to grab an arrow from her quiver.  
  
". . .Don't even try it." She said.  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Bullshit."  
  
They were quiet for a moment as they picked some grass. Suddenly Miroku's eyes widened. "I just remembered something." He said.  
  
"What? Did you leave some spell scrolls back at the house or something?" Raylin asked.  
  
"No. . ." he started. He looked in the direction of the house, clearly worried. "C'mon!" he called as he ran to the house.  
  
"What? What is it?" Raylin asked, following.  
  
"We're so stupid! We shouldn't have let Lady Amanda stay with Inuyasha alone!" Miroku said. "We knew that Inuyasha wasn't just poisoned with skullcap; he was poisoned with Yage too!"  
  
"And. . .?"  
  
"Yage causes hallucinations! Anyone poisoned by that stuff sees their worst enemy instead of their most loved one! He's going to attack Lady Amanda!" he explained.  
  
"What?!" Raylin cried. As she caught up with him she whacked him over the head a couple of times with the grass. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she yelled.  
  
***  
  
Kisike turned to Bridget as they walked through the forest, Kouten and Shippou trailing behind. "So you guys haven't gotten the coriander?" Kisike asked.  
  
Bridget shook her head. "Nope. Any luck with you guys?"  
  
Kisike held up some whortle roots. "We just need the basil." She said.  
  
Bridget nodded. "Hey." She said.  
  
"Hi." Kisike replied.  
  
Bridget rolled her eyes. Then she said, "Do you think we're ever going to get back?" she said.  
  
". . .I'm sure we'll make it back to the house alive."  
  
"I don't mean the house. I mean our own homes. Our dimension." Bridget said, nostalgically.  
  
"Well yeah. Eventually." Kisike said. She looked over at Bridget's depressed look. "Don't worry. We'll find a way back. But wishing isn't going to get us back."  
  
Bridget smiled sadly. "I guess you're right." She said.  
  
"But then again, if we could just find some ruby slippers. . ." Kisike started.  
  
Bridget laughed. "Yeah. Or a hot air balloon. Here you'll probably find ruby sandals, but hey, that may work too." She said.  
  
"Hey, guys!" Shippou piped up. "I smell basil!"  
  
Kisike sniffed. She blinked. "Yeah. . .I think I smell it too." She said. Shippou ran ahead.  
  
"Yep! I found it!" He said, standing in front of a basil bush. He picked a few leaves off, then turned. "Now we just have to find the coriander." He said.  
  
The others nodded. Kouten looked up at the sky. "It'll be first light soon." She said. The others looked at her, then looked up at the sky.  
  
". . .How can you tell? It looks dark, to me." Kisike said.  
  
Kouten rolled her eyes. "You forget I grew up with Akio. Being a demon of the sun and fire, he always got up at first light."  
  
"Yeah. . .so. . .?"  
  
"So he would always wake me up with all the noise he made when he was training." Kouten said.  
  
"Hey," Bridget spoke up, "Coriander looks like moss with purple flowers on it, right?" she asked.  
  
Shippou nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Good." Bridget said. "Then I found some." She picked some off a tree. She looked over at Kisike. "Now I think we should be hurrying back. We've already been gone for quite a while and time is not on our side." She said.  
  
". . .The brats aren't fast. Not to mention that they're about to fall asleep right now." Kisike said. True, Kouten and Shippou may have been carrying on conversation, but being the little kids they were, looked sleepy.  
  
"Then we should carry them back." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike sighed. "Fine." She said. She turned to the kids. "Okay. One of you brats get on my back." She said. Kouten jumped on her back. Shippou jumped on Bridget's head. Bridget sweatdropped. "Alright. Let's go." Kisike announced. She frowned.  
  
"What is it?" Bridget asked.  
  
"This isn't good. . .I smell blood. . .let's hurry."  
  
"Right."  
  
They began running back to the house.  
  
***  
  
Amanda winced. Inuyasha was still trying to kill her. Amanda had tried going into a different room, but he just followed her. She now sported a long gash on her left arm. She dodged another swipe. She had long ago noticed the blood from his reopened wound that had once again began to stain Inuyasha's shirt. "Inuyasha!" she yelled. "Inuyasha, please, stop! Sit!"  
  
Inuyasha growled. "I. . .guess that doesn't work when I say it. Dammit." Amanda sighed. She sank to the floor. "Alright Inuyasha. I give up. Just kill me now." She said wearily. She saw him approach and shut her eyes tightly.  
  
She waited a few seconds, expecting his claws to come down on her head. After those few seconds she thought, 'Wait a minute. . .Aren't I supposed to be dead right about now. . .?' She cracked an eye open to see that the claws had stopped within a hair of her head. She looked up to see Inuyasha staring ahead in disbelief.  
  
Curiously, she turned around and gasped. There was a woman standing behind her. A translucent woman. She had to be a ghost.  
  
The ghost wore a kimono and had long black hair. She was crying. "M- Mother. . ." Inuyasha stammered faintly.  
  
Amanda looked back at Inuyasha, then at the woman again. 'That's his mother. . .?' she wondered. Suddenly Inuyasha collapsed unconscious. "Inuyasha!" Amanda cried. She put a hand on his forehead. 'He's got a fever. . .' she thought.  
  
The woman glided around Amanda and knelt down next to Inuyasha's unconscious form, placing her own hand on his forehead. Amanda removed her hand and watched the ghost.  
  
"Are. . .Are you really Inuyasha's mother?" she asked. The woman looked up, smiled gently, and nodded. She removed her hand and stood up. Amanda felt Inuyasha's forehead again. Inuyasha's fever had gone down dramatically.  
  
"Th-thank you. . ." Amanda said. Inuyasha's mother nodded and glided out of the room. Amanda watched as she disappeared in the doorway. Sigaru ran into the room as Amanda wondered what she had seen was real.  
  
"Hey. You guys alright? I smelled blood." He said.  
  
Amanda sighed and closed her eyes. "Well, my arm's been cut open, but aside from that, I'm fine." She said.  
  
"Oh. Okay." Sigaru said nonchalantly. He set down the wood, then leaned against the wall next to the door. Amanda glared at his indifference.  
  
"Hello! I'm hurt here!" She yelled.  
  
"Oh. . .right." Sigaru said. He looked around. "Um. . .where'd we put the bandages?"  
  
Amanda sweatdropped and sighed.  
  
"Darn it. . .I can't believe your ears weren't cut off. Oh well. I guess that means I get to." Sigaru muttered, looking around the room for some bandages.  
  
"My WHAT?!" Amanda demanded.  
  
"Your ears." Sigaru repeated casually.  
  
Amanda fell over and rolled her eyes. She sat back up. "Look, first of all, the bandages are in the other room, you idiot. And second, why do you want to cut off my EARS?"  
  
Sigaru shrugged. "Because. Don't worry, you won't be alone; I'm going to cut off Inuyasha's ears too." He said.  
  
Amanda growled. "Touch us and you die." She said.  
  
"Yeah right. Inuyasha will be the one to die." He said, going into the other room. Raylin and Miroku ran in at that moment.  
  
"Lady Amanda, are you alright?!" Miroku asked.  
  
Amanda was twitching. "The idiot. . .wants to cut off everybody's ears. . ." she said.  
  
"Say what?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Our ears. The baka-Sigaru-said he was going to cut off Inuyasha's and my ears off." Amanda said. Raylin rolled her eyes.  
  
"What an idiot." She commented.  
  
"I'll say." Amanda agreed. She let go of her arm, the gash still bleeding profusely. "Geez. . ." she muttered.  
  
"Lady Amanda, you're bleeding!" Miroku said.  
  
"No shit, Sherlock." Amanda said irritably. She was in a bad mood- after all, Inuyasha had just tried to kill her. That would probably be just about enough to put anybody into a bad mood.  
  
"Sher-who?"  
  
". . .I'll explain later." Miroku asked.  
  
"When?"  
  
"On weekends, and holidays, and all throughout May!" said someone at the door.  
  
Everybody looked over at the door to see Kisike, Bridget, Shippou, and Kouten. Raylin, Miroku, and Amanda sweatdropped. "I'll bet." Raylin said.  
  
"When's May?" Miroku asked.  
  
"Oxen. The farmer used his oxen." Kisike said.  
  
"Oh god. . .she's reciting the Brian Regan comedy show again. . ." Bridget sighed.  
  
"Very good. Now, what's the plural form for box?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Boxen. I bought two boxen of doughnuts." Kisike replied.  
  
"No. What's the plural form for goose?"  
  
"Geese. I saw a flock of geese."  
  
"Good. Now, Kisike-"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What's the plural form for moose?"  
  
"MOOSEN!" Kisike yelled. "I saw a flock of moosen! There were many of them! Manymuchmoosen! Out in the woods! In the woodess. . .In the woodsen! The meese wanted the food, and the food is to eatenessen! The meese want the fooden in the woodensen! And the food's in the woodensen!"  
  
"Kisike, Kisike. . .You're an imbecile."  
  
"Inbesilen!"  
  
"What, are you speaking German?"  
  
"German! Germain! Germain. . .Jackson! Jackson five! Tito!"  
  
"Kisike, what the hell are you talking about?"  
  
". . .I dunno. . ."  
  
Amanda rolled her eyes as the four walked in and shut the door behind them. "Where the hell did Sigaru go? He was supposed to be back with the bandages." She demanded.  
  
"He was looking when we came in." Kisike said.  
  
Bridget snorted. "The idiot. He'll probably come in with it in his hand and say he couldn't find it. Then when we tell him it's in his hand, he'll say that he knew it was there all along and when we try to get it, he won't give it to us."  
  
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Miroku asked.  
  
"No. I sit across the table from him at lunch period. I know this guy. Do not underestimate his stupidity."  
  
"Uh. . ."  
  
"Hey, at lunch does he go on about cutting off people's ears?" Amanda asked. Bridget rolled her eyes and sighed.  
  
"Oh god, he didn't start going on about that again, did he? I swear, he's related to Bosch or something. . ." she said.  
  
"You mean the guy that painted the twelve-foot homicidal ears?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I dunno. . .he seemed too stupid to be related to Bosch. . ."  
  
Kiske set down Kouten, who had fallen asleep on the way up there. Shippou jumped off Bridget's head and yawned. "I'm tired. . ." Shippou said wearily. There was a big thump in the other room. " What was that?" Shippou mumbled. Bridget shrugged and sighed.  
  
"Sigaru must have either tripped over a stool or ran in to the wall head first. . ." Amanda said, the door to the next room sliding open. Kagome stood behind Sigaru with her katana to his throat. He was laughing nervously.  
  
"Sorry guys, my bad. . ." He mumbled. Amanda growled in her throat and quickly stood up.  
  
"LET ME AT HER!!!!" She growled, her claws sliding out of her fingers. Bridget sweatdropped while Shippou hid behind her.  
  
"Help me. . .Amanda has turned into her psycho personality. . ." he whispered. Miroku grabbed Amanda's shirt.  
  
"Lady Amanda, you're hurt. . .you can't go fighting in your condition." He stated with his one-handed prayer thingy. Amanda ripped from his grasp.  
  
"Don't you think that I know that?! I still have to kick her ass for last time. . ." Amanda said as she took a step toward Sigaru and Kagome. Miroku sighed.  
  
"I sure hope that I wouldn't have to do this. . .Sorry Lady Amanda." He lunged forward and grabbed her shoulder. Amanda yelled in anger but before she could rip free and launch herself at Kagome, Miroku struck a nerve in her neck. Amanda blacked out and collapsed. Bridget caught her before she hit the floor.  
  
She blinked. "Was that. . .really necessary?" she asked.  
  
"Well, it sort of shut her up!" Miroku suggested.  
  
Bridget sweatdropped. "She wasn't that bad. . .Kisike could be worse. . ."  
  
Raylin nodded. "She's got a point there. . ."  
  
"Hmph. YOU'RE ALL AGAINST ME! But anyways, it helped with dramatics if this were a movie!" Kisike piped up.  
  
". . .But this ain't a movie." Bridget said.  
  
"It could be one day!"  
  
Bridget rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing that she was the only sane one there now.  
  
Kagome sweatdropped. She cleared her throat. "Um. . .hello? I'm kinda holding your friend hostage here. . ." She spoke up.  
  
"Yeah! Don't forget about me! She's planning on killing me, ya know." Sigaru said nervously.  
  
Raylin blinked. "Friend? What friend? Go ahead and kill him. . .we don't care. . ."  
  
"No, wait!" Bridget said. "We can't let him get killed because in our dimension, Dwayne will probably die. Then the police will know that I knew him and then they'll be coming over to my house at all hours bugging me if I killed him or knew anything about his death. I don't really think they would believe me if I told them that I was really in another dimension where a zombie killed his other half."  
  
Kisike raised an eyebrow. "But then you'll get a bunch of attention."  
  
Bridget hit her over the head, giving the neko-jin swirly eyes. "I don't want attention!" she yelled.  
  
Kagome sweatdropped again. "You guys. . .YOU guys. . .YOU GUYS!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, yet she was blocked out by all the shouting that Bridget's group was dishing out in the small room.  
  
"Um guys. . .but what about after we kill Kagome. . .even though she is already dead. . .we could just throw Sigaru off of Mt. Fuji and don't have to worry about him any more." Kisike piped up, now rid of her swirly eyes.  
  
"Besides we are still going to win this fight because Kagome ran last time she was out numbered by all of us." Raylin spoke up, quickly grabbing her bow and arrows from next to the door.  
  
"You have to be joking. . .it took me forever to master the bow and arrows. . .do you think that you can hit me with your friend held as hostage?! You have to be joking. . ." Kagome laughed evilly. Raylin fitted an arrow in to the bow and pulled it taunt.  
  
" You want to test that theory?" Raylin said arrogantly.  
  
"Don't mind if I do. . .but I hope you know, you're going up against someone with miko powers." Kagome said, throwing away Sigaru, whose head got stuck in the wall. Kagome fit her own arrow into her bow.  
  
"Hellllp!" Sigaru yelled. "My head is stuck! Wait a second. . .ow! Mosquitoes! And fleas!"  
  
Kisike and the others sweatdropped. "Fleas. . .?" Bridget muttered.  
  
"Stop whining! Tell Myoga to keep the fleas away!" Kisike yelled.  
  
"Oh, yeah, that's just one more flea on my head!" Sigaru shot back.  
  
"Do you mind?! I'm trying to concentrate here!" Raylin yelled over the commotion.  
  
"Doesn't matter if it's quiet or not. You'll miss anyway." Kagome said.  
  
"Give me a break!" Raylin yelled, shooting her arrow. Well. . .it missed. And it ended up landing about seven feet away from Kagome.  
  
"You missed." Kagome said bluntly, sweatdropping.  
  
"Yeah. . .well. . ." Raylin started.  
  
"Now I get in my shot." Kagome said. She shot her arrow. Raylin blinked and looked startled as it grazed her arm. Then she blinked and tried to regain her confidence.  
  
"Hah! You merely grazed me! You cannot win!"  
  
Miroku, Kisike, and Bridget exchanged glances. Kagome sweatdropped. "Idiot. . .that had a numbing poison tip. It's not fatal, but. . .I figured you would have been able to guess by now." She said.  
  
At that moment Raylin collapsed. Kisike sweatdropped. "Oi. . .late reaction. . ." she said. Her claws extended as she stepped forward. "Alright. Let's finish this." She said. Miroku and Bridget nodded as they walked up beside her, Bridget unsheathing her sword and Miroku grasping his prayer beads.  
  
"Hey, Miroku." Kagome said. Miroku blinked. "Guess what I've got?" she asked. She held up a hive.  
  
"Hell wasps. . ." Miroku said, glaring. He turned to Bridget and Kisike. "Sorry. I can't help you two." He said.  
  
"-.-. . .Oh great. Thanks a lot." Bridget said.  
  
"Don't worry! We don't need his help. We can win this fight easy!" Kisike said.  
  
". . .So we hope." Bridget said.  
  
Kagome smirked. "So, are you just going to stand here chatting all night or are you going to attack me?" she asked.  
  
"Hm. . .I dunno. . .but I say, attack!" Kisike said, swiping at her. Kagome jumped back and unsheathed her katana. She dodged another swipe from Kisike and hit her over the head with the hilt of the katana. Kisike collapsed.  
  
Bridget gripped the hilt of her sword tighter as Kagome turned to her. "Now to deal with you. . ." Kagome said.  
  
Bridget glared. "I refuse to be defeated by you. . ." she said. "And I refuse to let you kill my friends." She said, her knuckles turning white.  
  
Kagome smirked again. "Do you honestly think you can defeat me?"  
  
"No, but I can certainly try!" Bridget yelled, running at her and swinging the sword. Kagome dodged and was about to slash Bridget's back when she turned, blocking it. Bridget jumped back in fighter's stance.  
  
"This is just a waste of my time." Kagome said. Bridget blinked.  
  
"Say what?!"  
  
"You're not bad for an amateur, I'll give you that, but you're just an amateur. You see, your attacks are very obvious. I can tell that you've never had any lessons. I've been able to read your moves the whole time." Said Kagome.  
  
Bridget continued to glare at Kagome and didn't reply. "Well, I suppose we finish our little duel now. Your move." Kagome said.  
  
Bridget ran at Kagome again and slashed. Kagome dodged, then during a second slash, knocked Bridget's sword away. She pointed her katana at Bridget's throat. "Now you die." She said. She suddenly straightened. Bridget blinked.  
  
"I sense somebody. . .outside. . ." Kagome said.  
  
The door slid open. Kagome looked over her shoulder to see. . .Sesshoumaru.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *Kisike's voice * Yaaaay! Summer vacation! Now we can find the Shikon shards faster! *Bridget's voice* Yeah. And hopefully get more written. *Kisike's voice* . . .That too. . . *Bridget's voice* Anyways, we have a question. How do you get italics and bold letters to show up on fanfiction.net? If you could tell us in a review, we'd really appreciate it. *Kisike's voice* That means you have to review! So do it! Now! Meheh! *Bridget's voice* Uh. . .yeah. . .don't forget to at the sound of the beep. Bye! *beep sounds* 


	18. He's Gonna Notice That

Author's Note-We still don't have all the Shikon shards yet, so we still don't own Inuyasha. We will soon though, hopefully. Anyways.um.I've got to go, so just be sure to read and review. Bye!  
  
"Sesshoumaru?!" Miroku, Kagome, and Bridget exclaimed at the same time (Sigaru exclaimed it too, but his exclamation was muffled, being on the other side of the wall and all).  
  
"I have come. . .to kill you all. And to claim the Tetsusaiga." He said.  
  
Bridget was the first to recover. "Oh. . .well, that's great and all, but. . .now's just not a great time. How about next Saturday. . ." she said.  
  
Sesshoumaru glanced at Bridget, then at Miroku, then at Kagome. "You." He said to Kagome. Kagome glared. "I thought I killed you." Sesshoumaru said.  
  
"Yeah, well guess what! I was brought back to life by someone even more powerful than you!" Kagome said. Sesshoumaru's emotionless expression didn't change.  
  
"Who might I ask is this person. . .?" he questioned.  
  
"Such information is unneeded for the dead." Kagome said.  
  
"Such as yourself." Sesshoumaru retaliated.  
  
Kagome gripped her katana in anger. "Well, you were once dead and you shall be again." Said Sesshoumaru. "Attack me now before I get impatient."  
  
"Why you. . .!" Kagome said, running at him.  
  
She thrust her katana at Sesshoumaru's chest. It went through him but no pain showed on his face. Kagome gasped when his outline wavered and disappeared. Sesshoumaru appeared behind her. "Very slow indeed." He sneered, delivering a solid blow to Kagome's middle back.  
  
She cried out in pain and anger, and spun around and attempted to stab him again. He caught the blade with his thumb and index finger and his hand glowed with a greenish tint. When the sharp katana was quickly reduced to a hilt and no more, Kagome sneered in anger and threw away the useless katana hilt. "You will pay for that. . ." She snapped.  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Sure. . .just try to hit me." Kagome pulled out her bow and arrow and quickly fitted the deadly arrow in to the bow. "Oh, what do you think I will do.just stand still and let you hit me?!" Kagome released the arrow; Sesshoumaru quickly dodged. He glanced back to find that the arrow had just adjusted its course and was very close to hitting him.  
  
A red blur flew past him and snatched up the arrow. The blur finally slowed and it turned out to be Bridget. In her hand she held the arrow as it crackled with pink miko power. Bridget looked at it questionably. "So that is miko power. . .neat. . ." She mumbled. Sesshoumaru looked at her with annoyance.  
  
"I didn't need your help." He stated. Bridget smiled nervously.  
  
"Um. . .well. . .heheheh. . ." She giggled nervously, handing the arrow to Sesshoumaru. "Here. . ." He looked at it funnily.  
  
"Full demons have no use for such stupid human weapons. . ." He said throwing the arrow shaft over his shoulder. Kagome was quickly fitting another arrow into her bow. "Now get out of my way before I kill you. . ." The arrow almost hit Sigaru (who is still stuck in the wall), and there came a muffled shout and a few selected cuss words that we will not repeat for fear of young minds.  
  
Amanda stirred in the corner, quickly regaining consciousness. She spied Miroku standing not too far away. "Oh Miroku. . ." She said in a singsong voice. He looked over and laughed nervously. "HOW DARE YOU KNOCK ME OUT!!!" She screamed in his ear. (A/N: we are kind of jacked up on chocolate and chlorine water.) (J/N: No we aren't; it was you that drank half of the pool. . .) (A/N: XP) Miroku cowered in the corner while Amanda hmphed and turned toward the fight.  
  
Kagome launched another arrow at the two across the room. They both dodged and the arrow embedded its self into the wall, causing it to crumple. Kagome fitted another arrow in to the bow, and prepared to fire another deadly missile. Just as she was about to launch yet another arrow, something solid hit her in the side and tackled her to the ground. It was Amanda. Kagome accidentally released the arrow and it struck the ceiling. This was a very bad thing.  
  
"You bit. . ."  
  
"Wordy derd!!!" shouted Bridget. Amanda gritted her teeth when Kagome started clawing at her already wounded arm.  
  
"I'm not going to let you win!" She screamed in to Kagome's ear. She cringed when pieces of wood started to pelt her. . .not too gently either. "Bridget. . .get Inuyasha and the others out of here!" She ordered. Sesshoumaru was now standing to the side thinking that everyone were now complete idiots.  
  
Bridget's face lit up. "Oh yeah. . ." She sheathed her sword, then ran over to Inuyasha lying on the floor from where he had collapsed earlier and picked him up and Raylin. She turned to Sesshoumaru who was just standing there. "You could help. . ." she snapped. Sesshoumaru growled and picked up Kisike, holding her two feet away like she had a disease. The ceiling started to collapse even faster. Bridget and Sesshoumaru rushed outside just in time to see half of the house crumple in on itself.  
  
"Was that everybody?" Sesshoumaru snapped, setting down Kisike on the grass. . .well, more like dropped.  
  
"Oh no! We forgot Miroku. . ." Bridget shouted, running toward the house. Sesshoumaru grabbed her shirt. A few seconds later the door and the rest of the house collapsed. "Oh damn. . .Inuyasha is definitely going to know that we did that. . ." Bridget moaned. The dust settled and there was Sigaru, still stuck in one of the few remaining walls. He was sweating bullets.  
  
"Thanks for forgetting about me." He sneered.  
  
"You're welcome." Sesshoumaru replied.  
  
Something shifted in the rubble. Bridget gasped and moved into a fighting stance. Amanda pulled herself out of the rubble-in her left hand she had the bag of medicine and in her other hand she had a hold of Miroku's robes. "I got the medicine and the hentai." She said, suddenly falling back with swirly eyes.  
  
Kagome suddenly heaved a large amount of crumpled wall off of her and stood up. She wavered from side to side about to collapse, in her hand she held a broken bow. "I need aspirin." Everyone heard her mumble as she fell over with swirly eyes.  
  
"Oh no. . .we forgot the kids. . ." Bridget groaned. There was a something coming through the bushes on her left. It was Kouten and Shippou. "Where were ya'll?!"  
  
"We woke up and went outside to get a drink. . .is something wrong?" Shippou asked. He then looked at the house. ". . .Oh. . ."  
  
"Thank goodness I won't have to deal with a very pissed off snow demon." Bridget mumbled. Kouten scratched the back of her head and smiled goofy.  
  
"Yep. That's my brother." She laughed. Bridget sweatdropped. She turned to where Sesshoumaru had been standing moments ago, but he was gone.  
  
"Sesshoumaru?" She asked, but there was no sign that he had ever been there. She smiled weakly. "Thanks." She whispered, and turned toward the house. She helped drag Miroku out of the rubble, Amanda and Kisike regaining consciousness again.  
  
Kisike spied Sigaru with his head still stuck in the wall and an evil smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Amanda looked at Sigaru and smiled evilly also. "Oh Sigaru. . ." The two called in a singsong voice as they picked up Miroku's staff that lied in the grass.  
  
"OH GOD!!!" Sigaru yelped and tried to rip his head free of the wall. Amanda and Kisike walked behind of him. Amanda got the first swing as she held the staff like a baseball bat and delivered a massive blow to Sigaru's posterior. The scream echoed through out the woods. Amanda gave the staff to Kisike and walked in front of Sigaru.  
  
"That was for threatening to cut of mine and Inuyasha's ears." She grabbed Sigaru's nose and pulled. Sigaru yelped and Kisike laughed as she watched Sigaru's butt wiggle. She took several steps back and used the staff like a golf club.  
  
"Five!" Kisike yelled. Amanda let go of Sigaru's nose.  
  
" Its four, Kisike." She corrected. Kisike looked from behind the wall.  
  
"Are you trying to be like Raylin? That is a very scary thought. . ." She smiled as she pulled back the staff. "Three!" She shouted and hit Sigaru as hard as she could. Sigaru shot out of the wall and wound up in an even worse situation. He was now stuck with his head through a tree. (A/N: We are evil. . .aren't we ^_^) (J/N: Okay, no more caffeine for you.) (A/N: ;_;)  
  
Amanda turned to Bridget who was getting all the herbs out of the bag so that they could make the medicine; Miroku was sitting next to her to tell her what to do. She suddenly slapped him as hard as she could and he lay there twitching. He had tried to rub on Bridget. "Go Bridget. . ." Amanda cheered. Finally, when the medicine was all made, they gave it to Inuyasha. Almost instantly they saw an improvement in the color of Inuyasha's skin tone. It took a few more minutes to make a cure for Raylin's paralysis, Amanda sighed and sat down next to Inuyasha. His color was better and what fever he had left had gone down greatly. "Baka. . .always trying to get yourself killed."  
  
"Amanda. . .you're bleeding again." Shippou said tugging at her shirt. Amanda looked down at her left arm. Sure enough, her wound had been reopened during the brief struggle against Kagome. Blood dribbled down her arm and stained the snow red.  
  
"Well, will you look at that. . ." She said as she tried to move her arm. She felt a dull pain but that was about it.  
  
"Amanda why do you always have to be so hard-headed when it comes to getting hurt." Raylin said as she walked over. Amanda glared at her.  
  
"Well. . .at least I don't love a hentai. That is hard-headed." Amanda countered. Raylin hit her hard over the head.  
  
"HEY! REMEMBER WHO IS THE WOUNDED AROUND HERE!" Amanda snapped. Raylin smiled.  
  
"Oh poor baby." Raylin smirked. Amanda stood up. Raylin gulped and ran off and Amanda quickly chased Raylin. Bridget was nearly barreled by the elf and she grabbed Amanda when she ran by.  
  
"Amanda. . .please stay still for two minutes so that I can fix up your arm." Bridget said angrily. Amanda frowned and sat in the grass Indian- style. When Raylin ran by, Amanda picked up a stone that was close by, and chunked the stone at her. The stone hit her in the head and caused her to fall over with swirly eyes. Amanda smiled and felt a little bit better.  
  
*In the cave*  
  
The figure stared angrily at a pool of water, showing the battle that took place at Inuyasha's house. "That baka girl. . .must I do everything?!" he demanded. He turned to a figure standing in the darkness. "I don't have enough power to heal that onna myself again, so until she heals naturally, you will have to take over." He said. The person bowed.  
  
"Yes, my lord." He said, disappearing.  
  
*back at the house*  
  
"There." Bridget said, tying the bandage. "Is it too tight?"  
  
Amanda flexed her arm. "No, don't think so." She said, chucking another rock at Raylin. It missed but she felt better even more anyway.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! TRYING TO GIVE ME A CONCUSSION?!" Raylin shouted.  
  
"Maaaaybe." Amanda said, grinning. Shippou ran over to them and tackled Amanda.  
  
"Amandaaaa!" He cried. Everybody sweatdropped.  
  
"Um. . .hi. . .Shippou. . ."  
  
"There's a weird person at the house!" he said, pointing in the direction.  
  
Bridget raised an eyebrow. "You mean where it used to be?"  
  
"That too, now come on!" Shippou said impatiently, grabbing Amanda's pinky finger and beginning to try to drag her to the wreckage of the house.  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. "Alright, alright, I'm coming. . ." she said. Shippou jumped up and down.  
  
"There's no time, there's no time, there's no time!" he cried.  
  
"Okay, okay. . ." Amanda stood up, along with Bridget, Kisike, Raylin, and Kouten. Miroku started to come but Raylin turned to him.  
  
"Stay." She said.  
  
"Alright." Miroku said, sitting back down.  
  
They walked over to the wreckage of the house. It was already around five in the morning and the sun was out, but there were still long shadows cast from the trees and it was still dim out. Someone was in these shadows. And he was holding Kagome's limp figure.  
  
"Um. . .who is that?" Amanda asked. Everybody shrugged.  
  
"No idea." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike pointed at the man. "Whoooo arrre youuuu?!" she demanded.  
  
The man looked up at them. They couldn't see the details of him, but they could tell that he had short hair and battle armor.  
  
"Who I am is of no concern to you. The only one you should be concerned about is the all-knowing-" he started; Kisike cut him off.  
  
"Who is the all-knowing?" she asked.  
  
"That is none of your concern."  
  
"But. . .you just said. . .YOU JUST CONTRIDICTED YOURSELF!" Kisike said.  
  
"I did not contradict myself!"  
  
"Liar! Liiiies! All lies! The alien in the class room is there!" Kisike yelled, pointing to a few feet away from her.  
  
The man blinked. ". . .Say what?"  
  
"There!" Kisike yelled, pointing to another spot. "Right there!"  
  
The man -.-'ed. "You must be the insane one."  
  
"What are you saying? They're all insane!" Raylin said.  
  
Amanda hit her over the head. "You are too! Admit it! You read the entire dictionary when you were just BORED!" she yelled.  
  
"That's called being smart! Something you may not know much about. . ." Raylin said.  
  
"Ooooh. . .that's one for Raylin, zero for Amanda." Bridget said.  
  
"How about this?! Does this count as a point?!" Amanda demanded, beginning to strangle Raylin.  
  
". . .No, if you kill your opponent then you're disqualified." Bridget sighed.  
  
"Darn it. . ." Amanda said, releasing Raylin. "Baka. . ." she muttered to Raylin.  
  
"But. . .but killing is fun!" Kisike said.  
  
"No, Kisike. Killing is not fun."  
  
"But Johnny does it all the time!"  
  
"Johnny the homicidal maniac?" Bridget asked, raising an eyebrow and sweatdropping.  
  
"Yes! The dude in my shrine with the candles!" Kisike said.  
  
". . .I'm accidentally-on-purpose knocking over one of those candles next time I spend the night at your house."  
  
"Then I'll do a trick! Like kill you." Kisike said casually.  
  
". . ."  
  
The guy sweatdropped as he watched the girls carry on normal conversation as if they were in school. The brats (Shippou and Kouten) where the only ones that really seemed to remember that he was still there. "Um. . .ahem. . ." he said, clearing his throat and trying to get their attention. It didn't work. His entrance spoiled, he decided that now would be a good time to leave, but he'd go out with a bang.  
  
He snapped his fingers and a pillar of fire rose up and encircled him as he disappeared. The girls (who were preoccupied with Amanda beginning to strangle Kisike, Bridget trying to break them apart and Raylin just standing off to the side and shaking her head) finally looked over at the flames.  
  
"Uhm. . .I think Inuyasha is going to notice that. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"No. . .he isn't awake yet. . .thankfully." Amanda said.  
  
"Who cares? The house. . .it's setting on fire. . .yeah. . .and um. . .if this spreads, we're gonna be burned to a crisp before breakfast." Kisike said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Didn't you say something about a person dying as a ball of flames humorous?" Raylin asked, turning to her.  
  
"Yes, but not us!" Kisike said, "And um. . .your hair is on fire." Kisike said pointing to Raylin's head. Raylin went pale. She immediately dropped to the ground and started rolling around, all the while Kisike cracking up. " Got ya'" Kisike said trying to catch her breath.  
  
"Guys we /really/ need to stop this fire because I don't want to get to be crisp and easy." Amanda said as she watched the flames quickly spread through the remains of Inuyasha's house.  
  
"I really think that Inuyasha is going to notice that. . ." Bridget said shaking her head, Kouten ran to the edge of the flames.  
  
"Be stormy!" A small rain cloud appeared over the massive tower of flames, but it was definitely not enough to put out the fire. "Oh. . .be happy. . ." Kouten said sadly.  
  
Shippou patted her on the shoulder. "That's okay Kouten. . .you tried." Shippou said. Kouten smiled.  
  
"SHIPPOU!" She squealed and latched on to him. He gagged and fell to the ground with swirly eyes.  
  
"Um. . .we. . .like. . .really need to go." Amanda said laughing nervously as she stared at the towering flames. 'This is just too hot for my taste.' She thought. Everyone started backing up and nodding in agreement. As they retreated Amanda grabbed a small piece of wood that had once been part of the house, then everyone started sprinting back to where Inuyasha and Miroku where camped at.  
  
Sigaru let out a sigh, for half an hour he had been stuck in that tree. He sniffed the air. "Hey what is that smell, something's burning." Sigaru said to himself as something started to warm his backside. "OH HOT!!!" he screeched, starting to do the wiggle dance.  
  
Amanda and the others came panting in to the clearing, Miroku sitting against a tree and Inuyasha starting to wake up. "Amanda. . ." Bridget said, nudging her toward Inuyasha.  
  
"HELL NO! I'm not going to tell him." She said jumping behind Raylin. She handed the piece of wood to her. "Here. . .you go out with the hentai. . .you tell him."  
  
"NO!"  
  
" Yes."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Here." Raylin said, handing the piece of wood to Amanda and shoving her on top of Inuyasha. "He's your boyfriend." Amanda started blushing and turned bright red as Inuyasha sat up and looked at her.  
  
"What is it that you want to tell me?" He asked.  
  
Amanda looked toward her friends. She sweatdropped when she saw them on the other side of the clearing. "SOME FRIENDS!!!" she shouted. She then turned back to Inuyasha. "Okay, but before I tell you, you have to promise not to take out your anger on me. . .okay?" Amanda asked. She could feel her palms start to sweat.  
  
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Okay." He said slowly.  
  
Amanda took Inuyasha's hand and dropped the piece of wood in to it. "Um. . .here."  
  
"What is this?" He asked dumbfounded.  
  
"What's left of your house." Amanda said meekly.  
  
" MY WHAT?!" He shouted. He looked at Amanda with the I'm-gonna-kill- you-sharp-toothed-big-fanged (homicidal) look and vaguely resembling a grinning shark. "Would you like to repeat that?" He asked through clenched teeth. Amanda sweatdropped.  
  
"That's what's left of. . ." Amanda gulped, "your house." She squeaked.  
  
Inuyasha grabbed her around the throat and had her on the ground strangling her. Amanda about that time had swirly eyes. Raylin started laughing. "HEY, INUYASHA. . .you go boy!" She shouted though cupped hands. Inuyasha temporarily stopped strangling Amanda. He then looked their position on the ground. He was pretty much straddling Amanda's sides and was sitting on her stomach. He leaped off of her like he had just been rear ended by a cattle prod. Amanda and Inuyasha now sat about five feet apart with their arms crossed and faces red. They glanced at each other and then blushed an even brighter red (if possible).  
  
"How embarrassing. . ." Miroku said shaking his head and standing next to Raylin. He reached up and tried to grab her ass, but he soon found himself in between Inuyasha and Amanda with a /big/ slap mark on the side of his face.  
  
Inuyasha stood up and walked in the direction of his burnt/burning house. He came back a few minutes later, his hair singed with a little flame on one side of his head. Kisike strutted over and licked her thumb and index finger, then put out the little flame. Inuyasha's eyebrows started twitching. "Who started the fire?!" He asked as everybody hid behind the nearest tree.  
  
"Well. . .it was. . .a guy. . .he um. . .yea." Raylin gulped.  
  
Kisike smiled. "Do you know the muffin man. . .the muffin man. . .the muffin man. . .do you know the muffin man who lives on Durey Lane. . ." She sang. Inuyasha cringed and covered his sensitive ears. A pinecone came flying out from behind the tree that Amanda was hiding from, hitting Kisike right in the middle of the face and stuck there.  
  
"Kisike, you baka. . .shut up!" Amanda shouted. Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Hey look Inuyasha it was not our fault that your house is completely destroyed and there is no hope to ever rebuild it. . .oops. . ." She mentally hit herself in the head as she caught the sad look in Inuyasha's eyes. "Inuyasha. . .I didn't mean to say that. . ." she said. Inuyasha abruptly turned and walked off in no particular direction. "Inuyasha. . ." she whispered, looking off in to the direction that he had disappeared to.  
  
Raylin walked up to behind Amanda. "Look what you've done."  
  
"I didn't mean to. . .it was an accident." She whispered, she turned toward Raylin. "You have no idea what I experienced in that dark pond. . .you have no idea. . ." she whispered. She then ran off into the woods after Inuyasha. 'God what have I done?' she thought.  
  
"Raylin see what you've done. . .now that's two people we have to go looking for because of your big, humongous hole for a mouth." Bridget said, jabbing a finger at Raylin. "You couldn't keep quiet, couldn't you?"  
  
"Well. . .I um. . ." Raylin said trying to tiptoe away from the group. Kisike pulled out the duct tape. They taped her to a tree to keep her there.  
  
"Don't worry, Lady Bridget. They will come back. . .Inuyasha won't let anything happen to either of them." Miroku said.  
  
***  
  
Amanda walked though the forest. She leaned down and looked at the ground. 'Inuyasha's been here. . .it looks like he started running right about there.' She thought, studying the tracks that Inuyasha had made. She followed his scent now relying on more on instinct than knowledge. She felt tears come to her eyes when a tree branch hit her in her arm when she was running.  
  
'I'm so stupid. . .how could I have been so heartless.' She thought, remembering how Inuyasha had looked right before he had left. His scent abruptly stopped. She looked around, puzzled. She let her gaze drift up a tree trunk, and on one of its highest branches sat Inuyasha. She climbed up the tree trunk until she was right next to him. "May I join you?" she whispered. She saw a light nod of his head.  
  
He keep on staring straight ahead even when Amanda took a seat next to him on the tree branch. Amanda sat there in silence just staring at her knees. She felt hot tears land on the back of her hands and realized that it was she that was crying. Inuyasha looked down at her and noticed this. "Why are you crying?"  
  
She shook her head. "It's my fault that we all got in this mess. . .if I had only been strong enough to defeat Kagome the first time she attacked, then your house wouldn't be in the shape it is now." The hot tears seemed to come more freely now. Inuyasha sighed and looked straight again.  
  
"It's not your fault. . .it's nobody's fault. The place was about to fall apart anyway."  
  
"But it was your home." Amanda sobbed. Inuyasha looked at her from the corner of his eye. He shifted nervously, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She unconsciously leaned against him; she felt so tired. Inuyasha smiled a little bit when he felt Amanda go to sleep against him. He felt something wet against him palm. He looked at his palm. It was partially red. He looked at Amanda's arm, where there was a blood soaked bandage. He felt sick to his stomach.  
  
'Did I do that?' he though to himself. He had a sickening feeling that he had.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on* *Amanda's voice* Hi, readers. I'm doing the answering machine thingy since Kisike, Raylin, and Kouga have gotten into an argument and Bridget's trying to break it up. *in the background * Hey, come back here! You started this whole argument! *Amanda* Eheh.heh.well, anyways, we've written more and we still are. We would like to thank you all for the reviews that we've been getting. We've also decided to do something. Whoever is the fiftieth reviewer gets a prize. Sounds good, ne? Well, be sure to review! Bye! 


	19. Caution: Contents under pressure

Author's Note-Guess what! New chapter! Aren't ya'll happy? ^ ^ Anyways, yes, I know, it's been too long. . .but oh well! Be happy! By the way, Chibi Horsewoman/A.k.a Shinimegami, here's your prize! *hands Chibi Horsewoman a crate containing a year-supply of tangerines and a coca cola with extra sugar* Now, on with the fic!  
  
***At camp***  
  
"Let me out! Let me ouuut!" Raylin yelled. Everybody except Miroku- who was giving her sympathetic looks-ignored her. "Pleeeeease?"  
  
Kisike took another piece of duct tape and stuck it over Raylin's mouth.  
  
"Hmmm! Hmm hm hm hmmmm!" Raylin tried to say, but the duct tape put up too much of a battle and won. Raylin resorted to glaring at the others, then staring at Kisike without blinking.  
  
Kisike felt eyes that were wishing for her head to explode focus on her. She sweatdropped, took one more piece of duct tape, closed Raylin's eyes, and duct-taped that too.  
  
Kisike dusted her hands off. "That's better. . ." she said. She froze and twitched when she heard a sniffing aimed towards her. Raylin was just too stubborn. . .  
  
Kisike took out one more piece of duct tape to put on her nose when Bridget grabbed her wrist. "No, 'Sike. She won't be able to breath."  
  
"Good!" Kisike said.  
  
"Not good."  
  
"Well. . .she could breath out of the hole I make in the back of her neck. Like a dolphin."  
  
". . .She ain't a dolphin."  
  
"Oh really? Okiedokie then." Kisike said, sitting back down.  
  
Inuyasha walked slowly back to the camp. Everybody looked over at him to see him carrying Amanda. Bridget started to get up.  
  
"It's okay, it's okay. . .she's just asleep." Inuyasha said.  
  
Bridget nodded and sat back down.  
  
"Um. . .Are we going to camp out here?" Bridget asked.  
  
"It's already morning. . ." Miroku pointed out.  
  
"So? Who doesn't sleep in the daytime and travel at night?"  
  
"Well. . .Me, for example. Most normal people do."  
  
"Whoever said we were normal?! Was it yooou?!" Kisike demanded, pointing to the sleeping Kouten.  
  
"Shippou-Chan. . ." Kouten mumbled, turning over.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. She then rounded on the sleeping Shippou. "How about yooou?!"  
  
"Wasn't me. . ." Shippou muttered.  
  
"Why are the brats asleep?! Oh well." Kisike said, flopping down to the snow-covered ground and falling asleep in a matter of seconds.  
  
"Wait a second! We still. . .need. . .to. . .untape Raylin. . ." Bridget said, her voice trailing off as she sweatdropped.  
  
Inuyasha laid Amanda down on a blanket they had managed to salvage from the fire that was the highest pile of leaves, then walked over to Raylin. He sliced the tape with his claws, some of it sticking. He shook his hand frantically, trying to get it off. Raylin-with Bridget's help- managed to get the rest off. Raylin slowly pulled the tape off her mouth and then soaked the tape over her eyes in a nearby stream to loosen it and pulled it off. She sat against a tree and fell asleep. Miroku had fallen asleep a while ago. Inuyasha had jumped up in a tree.  
  
Bridget sighed and sat down on a mossy rock, wearily leaning her head against a tree. She looked back at her comrades and smiled weakly. 'They didn't even bother to set up an actual camp. . .they're all going to catch pneumonia at this rate. . .' she thought. She closed her eyes. 'Let's just hope it doesn't snow. . .'  
  
She began to drift to sleep when she heard someone land in the snow next to her. "Sesshoumaru, Kagome, evil fire dude, I don't care who you are, just let me get some sleep. . ." she groaned without even opening her eyes.  
  
A finger prodded her forehead. ". . .Okay, you're not going to kill me. What do you want?" Bridget finally said as she slowly began to open her eyes after a minute of prodding. She looked up at Inuyasha to see that his eyes were troubled. "Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
"I have a question. . ." Inuyasha said uneasily.  
  
Bridget blinked. "Yeah?" she asked.  
  
Inuyasha began to pace, making Bridget feel like she was being interrogated by a police officer or something. She sweatdropped, until Inuyasha said, "That gash on Amanda's arm. . .did I give it to her?"  
  
Bridget sighed and looked down at the snow, now fully awake. "I'm afraid so. It's really not your fault-you were poisoned with Yage." She said.  
  
Inuyasha sat down in the snow. "Yeah, but still. . ." He said. He looked up. "That's no excuse. I shouldn't have tried to kill her." He said.  
  
". . .Inuyasha, you can't blame yourself. Seriously, she knows what happened. And if she doesn't, we'll tell her. All and all, she knows the truth, or she will, and when she wakes up, you can apologize." Bridget said. She sighed again. "To be honest, I'm not that great with giving advice. Why didn't you annoy one of the others?"  
  
". . .Think about it. What are my choices?" Inuyasha asked. "Shippou and Kouten are brats, and the others are just completely out of the question."  
  
Bridget sweatdropped. "Good point. . ." There was silence for a moment. Finally she said, "You. Go. Let me get some sleep." She sat down on the ground and got some wet leaves and shaped them into a bed in the snow. She laid down. "I need to get a math project done and the other me is wondering what the heck's goin on over here."  
  
Inuyasha nodded and went over to Amanda. He leaned against a nearby tree and fell asleep.  
  
*back in the other dimension*  
  
Kisike looked around. It was definitely science class. She got her CNN update. Ms. Olsen-the science teacher-walked around, checking if everybody was actually doing their experiments with their table and not fooling around. There was a glass bottle, a yellow balloon the size of an egg, a piece of rolled up paper, and a box of matches lying on the table. "Ooooh. . ." Kisike said, taking extra time to glance at the box of matches. The kids at her table gave her odd looks and raised an eyebrow; she was visiting their table, so they weren't used to her insanity. At least. . .not yet. . .  
  
"Okay. What we have to do is light the piece of paper and stick it in the bottle. Then we put the balloon on top." Sydney said, reading the worksheet they were given.  
  
"I'll light the paper!" Kisike volunteered.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"I'll put the balloon on the bottle." Sang said. He was an exchange student from Korea.  
  
"I guess I'll hold the bottle. . ." Rachelle said. She looked over at another table to see them cutting up. She giggled. . .like she usually did.  
  
"Okay." Sydney said. Kisike then struck the match and lit the paper, which she dropped into the bottle.  
  
"Oh my god!" She yelled. "It's Inuyasha's house!"  
  
"Say. . .what. . .?" Sydney asked, blinking. Rachelle began giggling.  
  
"Poor Inuyasha's house. . .he's definitely going to notice that." Kisike said as she watched the paper begin to smolder.  
  
"You American girls are weird. . ." Sang said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Kisike! Out into the hall!" Ms. Olsen snapped, pointing to the door. Kisike sighed.  
  
"Okiedokie." She said, standing up and going out into the hall and preparing to be yelled at. She waited for about five minutes when Ms. Olsen came out into the hallway. Ms. Olsen glared at her.  
  
"You are not supposed to be-" she started.  
  
Kisike found herself curled up in a ball in the snow.  
  
***  
  
Amanda twirled her pencil as she tried to figure out the next math problem. She got her CNN update and checked her arm. It was fine. It was as if she'd never been in a battle, in fact. Well, there was that battle with her little brother Matthew yesterday, but. . .that wasn't the point. Mrs. Woodward sitting at her desk while the students got into groups and pretended to do math when the boys were really talking about perverted stuff and the girls talked about boys.  
  
'That's right. . .I fell asleep, didn't I?' she thought. 'I hope Inuyasha's okay. . .'  
  
She put away her math book. She really couldn't concentrate at the moment. "Shoot, I'll just finish it for homework. . ." she muttered.  
  
For the rest of the class, she pondered the recent events. 'Who was the guy that started the fire? We never really found out. And who is this all-knowing person? Kagome and the guy never said who it was. . .just called him the all-knowing.' She sighed and laid her head down on the table.  
  
". . .My brain hurts. . ." she mumbled.  
  
***  
  
Raylin got her CNN update and looked down at her book. "Outsiders? Again?" she asked unhappily. She'd read the book four times. . .twice for fun, the other times for school. She liked the book but she'd just finished reading it for fun two days ago.  
  
She read through the chapter (more like skimmed. . .) and answered the all-too-easy question sheet. As the literature teacher- Mrs. Stephens- started making the class take turns at reading the next chapter, Raylin thought about all that had happened lately.  
  
"Raylin." One boy said as he finished reading. Raylin looked up. "Huh?" she asked.  
  
"You have to read now." The boy said.  
  
"Um. . ." she started.  
  
"It's right after Ponyboy gets jumped by the Socs." Mrs. Stephens said.  
  
"Oh. . .um. . .yeah. . ." Raylin said, skimming the chapter. She began to read. She just got to the part where Soda asked Pony if he was okay when she found herself leaning against a tree.  
  
***  
  
Bridget blinked as she got an update. She was in social studies class. Mr. Mathis-the social studies teacher-was giving notes on the Civil War. Bridget yawned. 'Sheesh. . .I'm tired in this dimension too. . .they really should start showing adult swim earlier. . .' she thought. She looked up at the overhead, then down at the papers on her desk.  
  
She was trying to take notes and work on her math project at the same time. . .not working. She wasn't able to pay attention to either and had ended up drawing doodles of the Inuyasha gang on the side of her paper. She looked over at Dwayne (Sigaru), who was sitting in the next row a couple desks away. The class all began talking at once, so she took that chance to talk to him.  
  
"Hey. . .you do know what's happening to your other half, right?" she asked.  
  
Dwayne looked over at her. ". . .Yeah. And for that, I'm going over to your camp to cut all your ears off." He said.  
  
Bridget blinked. "Wait a second. . ." she started. Her eyes widened. "We forgot a guard for the camp! Oh, shit! Now anybody could attack us! Even the evil fire dude!" she began ranting.  
  
"Um. . .I think it's me you have to worry about more. . ." Dwayne started, sweatdropping. Bridget looked over at him.  
  
"Oh, who cares if you come? You'll probably just trip and wake us up and then my friends end up killing you. No, I'm worried about an intelligent bad guy, unlike you, who's really not even supposed to be a real bad guy, but Inuyasha's rival." She said.  
  
". . .Thanks a lot."  
  
The class's chatter began to die down and Mr. Mathis went back to teaching. Bridget went back to doodling. That is, until Mr. Mathis called on her.  
  
"Bridget, what was the general that led the March to the Sea?" he asked.  
  
Bridget looked up and blinked. "Hm? Well. . .well, uh. . ." she heard a few of the preps snicker and she glared. 'As if they could answer in record time. . .' she thought.  
  
"Do you know the answer?" the teacher asked.  
  
Bridget thought for a moment, then nodded. She remembered reading from her history book last night. At two o'clock in the morning. "It was General-"  
  
***  
  
"Sherman?" Bridget asked, opening her eyes.  
  
". . .Who?" Kisike asked.  
  
"General Sherman?" Raylin asked. Bridget nodded. "Yeah. . .he led the March to the Sea." Raylin continued.  
  
". . .I know that. Or at least I do now. Maybe I'll actually bring my 'B' up to an 'A' on my next test." Bridget sighed.  
  
"What are we doing in social studies?" Raylin asked. "Since I'm assuming that you just came from there."  
  
"Um. . .basically just taking notes and stuff about the Civil War. . .but unless you go to sleep again really soon, I doubt you'll make it back to our world in time for social studies. Who's already been?"  
  
"Me." Amanda replied.  
  
"Good. Then I need to copy your notes. I didn't get all of mine."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Inuyasha looked over at Miroku cluelessly, who shrugged. "What are you people talking about?" he questioned.  
  
"Oh. . .you wouldn't know. . .American history and all. Yeah. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"What time period is this anyway? I mean, I've just noticed that we don't even know what time period this is." Raylin said.  
  
"Feudal Era. . .The Warring States period." Shippou said. "Even I know that."  
  
"Yeah, but. . .what century?"  
  
"Century?"  
  
"Never mind." Raylin sighed.  
  
"So anyways, what'd we wake up for again?" Kisike asked.  
  
"That." Kouten stated, pointing to Sigaru, who was blackened with ash and lying in the snow.  
  
"He tripped and Inuyasha heard him." Amanda said.  
  
"I told him. . ." Bridget muttered.  
  
"I can't believe this. He isn't dead yet?" Inuyasha asked, nudging Sigaru with his foot. Suddenly Sigaru's hand shot up and grabbed his ankle. "What the. . .?"  
  
"Hah! And you thought I was dead. I'm going to cut your ears off, Inuyasha." Sigaru said. He pulled Inuyasha's ankle, making Inuyasha lose his balance and fall, then sat up.  
  
"Why you. . ." Inuyasha growled. He jumped up. "I can't believe you're still alive! And you tried to kill Kagome, too! Even after I said not to! Fight me, but leave Kagome outta this."  
  
The rest of the group exchanged glances. They all had the same thought running through their minds; they had tried to kill Kagome too. Shippou and Kouten-who'd been asleep the entire time-blinked and looked confused.  
  
"Uh. . .huh?" Kouten asked.  
  
Shippou shrugged. "Don't bother asking. I've found that usually they won't answer, or just say 'I'll tell you when you're older.'" He said.  
  
"Okay, Shippou!" Kouten said.  
  
"Yeah. We'll tell you brats when you're older. Now shut up!" Kisike said.  
  
Kouten sniffed and looked up at the sky. From the position of the sun, she guessed that it was probably a little after noon.  
  
"Now! Let's finish this!" Sigaru exclaimed, jumping into fighting stance.  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Why do you even bother? You know I'll just beat you." He said.  
  
"Oh, please. I've fought tougher squirrels than you."  
  
"Wha. . .What?! Why are you even fighting squirrels in the first place?!" Kisike demanded. "That's. . .kind of a lame insult. . ."  
  
Sigaru sweatdropped. "Hey, I have to eat too, okay?"  
  
"Poor squirrels. . ." Amanda commented.  
  
"You must fight a lot of squirrels. There isn't a lot of meat on a squirrel, ya know?" Raylin said.  
  
"Well. . .I more like-" Sigaru started.  
  
"Shoot them with your peashooter?" Kisike asked brightly.  
  
". . .No. Anyways, I don't really fight them. . .you can't really fight squirrels."  
  
"Exactly. So why did you say that you were fighting them? You were really contradicting yourself." Raylin said.  
  
"Well. . ."  
  
Bridget sweatdropped. "Kinda like that guy on unsolved mysteries that said 'I don't believe in ghosts. . .but I know they're here.' When they were talking about an inn."  
  
"Oh yeah. . .I saw that one. . ." Raylin said.  
  
"Wha. . .?" Sigaru asked, not understanding at all.  
  
"I get it. I see how it is." Kisike said.  
  
"You always see how it is." Bridget said.  
  
Sigaru shook his head. "Look, are we fighting or not?!" he demanded. He smirked. "Or are your friends just stalling because they don't want you to die?"  
  
"Look! Inuyasha was at the point of dying last night and now you want to fight him?! Give him a break already; he'll fight you when he's ready!" Amanda shot back.  
  
"Nah, don't worry about me. I'm fine." Inuyasha said, stepping up. "Besides, with my house burning down and everything else that's come with the recent turn of events, I need to kill something."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
Inuyasha grinned. "Definitely."  
  
"Alright! It's about time!" Sigaru said.  
  
The two half dog demons got into fighting stance. "Your move." Inuyasha said.  
  
Sigaru nodded and charged forward, swiping at him. Inuyasha dodged easily. Sigaru did a flying roundhouse kick to Inuyasha's head but Inuyasha ducked. "I'm going to defeat you. . .just like I defeated that girl that tried to kill you!" Sigaru said.  
  
Inuyasha growled. "Why you. . ."  
  
Bridget, Amanda, Kisike, and Raylin sweatdropped. ". . .Your head was stuck in the wall the entire time." Kisike pointed out.  
  
"Well. . .uh. . ." Sigaru started.  
  
Inuyasha snickered. "Your head was stuck in the wall?" he asked.  
  
"Only for a couple of seconds! Then um. . .then um. . ."  
  
"-.- Then we had to get you out." Raylin finished.  
  
"You call whacking me with a priest staff 'getting me out?!'" Sigaru demanded.  
  
"Well. . .technically. . .it was us that got you out." Amanda said.  
  
"And into a tree."  
  
"Um. . .I don't mean to interrupt your argument and everything, but. . .I'm a monk, not a priest." Miroku pointed out.  
  
"We don't care, Priestman!" Sigaru said.  
  
Inuyasha continued to snicker until Sigaru finally turned back to him. And even then, he couldn't hide his smirk. "So, you got defeated by a wall, did you?" he asked.  
  
"I did not get defeated by a wall!"  
  
"How many paper cuts did you get?"  
  
"Fiv- Wait! That's not the point! Stop stalling and fight, cowardly weakling!" Sigaru ordered.  
  
"Fine, fine." Inuyasha said. He ran at Sigaru. "Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!" He yelled. Sigaru jumped back. When he landed, they could see slashes in his shirt. "Well, I suppose you have gotten better since last time we fought. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Of course I have! Aside from my job, what else would I be doing but trying to get stronger than you?"  
  
Raylin turned to the others. "Why are they fighting anyways?" she asked.  
  
"Hey. . .I don't think they ever told us that. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"Probably just some guy thing. Probably best not to even ask." Bridget said with the wave of her hand.  
  
"Yeah. . .you're probably right." Kisike sighed. She grinned and took a pack of cards out of her pocket. "So who wants to play cards?" she asked. She turned to Raylin. "And you still owe me money from a few days ago."  
  
"I know, I know. I'll pay you back. I probably already have back in the other dimension, anyway. Besides, it was just fifty cents; I was only buying ice cream." Raylin said.  
  
"Okay then. We could play Go Fish." Kisike suggested.  
  
"How about War?" Bridget suggested.  
  
"Eh. . .good idea. That game lasts forever and their battle will probably be over by then. Deal the cards." Amanda agreed.  
  
Miroku walked over as the girls sat on logs and rocks and stuff. "What are you four doing?" he asked.  
  
"Playing War." Raylin said as she watched Kisike deal out the cards.  
  
"Could you teach me how to play?" Miroku asked as Shippou and Kouten walked up to the group.  
  
"Sure. The brats can play too. This could take awhile. . ."  
  
*two hours later*  
  
"I win!" Shippou cheered.  
  
"Again?" Raylin groaned.  
  
"Hey, are those two done fighting yet?" Amanda asked.  
  
Miroku looked over at the still-battling Inuyasha and Sigaru. "Apparently. . .not." He said.  
  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
"I'm bored." Kouten whined.  
  
"Yeah. So am I. Let's break up this fight and get moving again." Raylin said.  
  
"You think it's right to break up a battle that these two must have been preparing themselves for decades?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Yeah. We do. Now, grab a snowball, and prepare to throw." Kisike said.  
  
Everybody made their snowballs and took aim at whichever person they hated most, which of course, was Sigaru. . .well, except for Kisike who threw her snowball at Inuyasha just to annoy him.  
  
Inuyasha and Sigaru looked at the group of attackers. "What do you guys want?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"We're bored. Let's go." Shippou said.  
  
"Yeah! We still need to get my flute!" Kouten reminded them.  
  
"Oh yeah. . ." Inuyasha said. "Well, give me a few more minutes. I want to say goodbye to somebody." He walked off, back towards the house.  
  
"He wants to say goodbye?" Amanda asked, confused. She looked around to see if anybody knew what he was talking about and saw a bunch of clueless faces. She decided to follow him.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Mother, I'm back. Sorry about the house. . .I know you would kill me if you were still around." Inuyasha said softly. He decided to visit his mother's grave one last time before he left. "Anyways. . .I met four girls not to long ago. I'm going to help them get home." He said. He smiled sadly. "Well, I've got to go. . .My friends and I have lots of places to go. Bye, Mom. Until next time." He found a flower that seemed to have survived the snows and placed it on the grave.  
  
He then turned and left. About halfway back he ran into somebody. He looked down to see Amanda.  
  
"Oh. . .sorry about that. . ." Amanda said.  
  
Inuyasha blinked. He'd been wondering what to say to her since he found out about her arm. He wanted to apologize, but his voice wouldn't let him. There was an uneasy silence. "Uh. . ." he started.  
  
This time Amanda blinked. "Um. . .How's your back?" she asked. "Did your wound heal all the way?"  
  
"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. . .and your arm?"  
  
"It's been better, but the bleeding's stopped and everything. . ." Amanda said, smiling.  
  
"Well, that's good."  
  
"Yeah. . ." Amanda agreed.  
  
They stared at each other for a moment. "Well. . .I guess we should go back now, right?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Not yet." Amanda said. Inuyasha blinked. Amanda walked over to the grave; Inuyasha followed. Amanda placed a flower on the grave and began to walk back. Inuyasha again followed. While they walked, Amanda spoke up. "Inuyasha?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Who was-" Amanda started. She stopped and glared. She picked up a snowball and threw it at the bushes. "Go away!" she yelled. There was the crunching of feet in snow as the rest of the group ran back to the camp.  
  
Inuyasha blinked. Amanda turned back to him.  
  
"Who was Kikyo?" she asked.  
  
Author's Note-*the answering machine comes on* *Raylin's voice* Hey, I haven't been online much and just got the news about the results on the poll. . .thanks for voting for me! ^ ^ *Kisike's voice* Pi-ti-ful human! Just because you won doesn't mean you get to do the answering machine this time! *Raylin's voice* Um, I'm an elf, and yes, it does. *Kisike's voice* Awww. . . *Raylin's voice* Anyways, thanks again and congrats Chibi Horsewoman for being our fiftieth review. And whoever reviews at the sound of the beep gets a tangerine. *beep sounds* 


	20. I think I have found a new meaning to ar...

Author's Note-Hey! Bet you're surprised to hear from us again. Think we've abandoned this fic? No chance. ^ ^ We've been gotten a couple Shikon shards lately.not enough, but some.so we still don't own anything. And we also don't own Ranma ½. That also belongs to the genius Rumiko Takahashi. Anyways, here's the new chapter!  
  
Inuyasha froze. "Ki-Kikyo?" he stammered.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"How did you find out about Kikyo. . .?" he asked.  
  
"I met her. . .temporarily. It was in the pond."  
  
"The pond?"  
  
"Yeah. I was taken to the past when you got pinned to a tree." Amanda explained. "I want to know if you really destroyed that village, killed Kikyo, and stole the Shikon No Tama."  
  
"I. . .I. . ." Inuyasha stammered. He looked away. "I didn't do all of it." He responded.  
  
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "But you did some of it?" she demanded. "Why? I thought you were better than that!"  
  
"Amanda. . ." Inuyasha said, taking her hands. "I wouldn't have. . .but I was different back then. . ." he said.  
  
"That didn't give you the right to do those things that you did though. . ." Amanda said.  
  
"I didn't mean to. . .besides, like I said, not everything was done by me." Inuyasha said. The wall to his emotions suddenly went back up. He released her hands and turned away. "Feh. I don't need you lecturing me on something that happened fifty years ago anyway. . .let's get back to the others." He said.  
  
Amanda blinked, then nodded. "Sure." She said.  
  
They walked back to the campsite. The others, who were sitting around and trying to look like they'd seen nothing at all, all looked up.  
  
"C'mon. We're leaving. We have places to go and things to do." Inuyasha said, not stopping.  
  
The group stood up, gathered their things, and followed the dog-eared hanyou. They walked for a couple hours until they finally came to the edge of the valley. Raylin blinked suddenly. "Hang on. . .why is he following us?" she asked Amanda, who was right beside her.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe he's just going our way?" Amanda asked, shrugging.  
  
Bridget nodded. Then she turned to Sigaru. "Hey, why ARE you following us?" she asked.  
  
"Because. I'm going to defeat Inuyasha and cut everybody's ears off." Sigaru replied.  
  
Amanda shoved him into a pool of water right by the path. Everybody who was up front heard the splash and turned around to see what had caused it. But what they saw was not at all what they expected to see. Kisike was the first one to speak. She burst out laughing and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's the pool of the drowning girl!"  
  
A girl Inuyasha's age with short black hair in a ponytail and dog ears blinked up at them, then glared. "What are you talking about?!" she demanded. She yelped. "Wait. . .is that MY voice?! It's too high pitched. . .I sound like a. . .like a. . ."  
  
"Like a girl?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Inuyasha was laughing so hard that he practically fell over. "Oh man! I can't believe it! You're a. . .a. . .a girl!" he laughed.  
  
Even Miroku couldn't contain the grin on his face. "It appears that there was one more pond in this valley that could do. . .damage." He said.  
  
Sigaru gasped. "I can't believe it. . .I'm a giiiirl!" He-or should I say she-cried.  
  
"Well, this probably isn't too much different from Ranma ½. All we need to do is splash you with some hot water. But you'll be stuck with the curse until you can find the cure." Bridget said.  
  
"And what's the curse?"  
  
"Cold water, you're a girl. Hot water, you're a boy."  
  
"Oh, greeeat. . ." Sigaru moaned.  
  
Bridget shrugged.  
  
Sigaru jumped up. "Well then, I'll just have to find some place with hot water." She turned to Inuyasha. "Don't you forget. We still have a fight to finish. I will defeat you, Inuyasha, if it's the last thing I do."  
  
"Fine. Train all you like. You'll never defeat me." Inuyasha replied, smirking.  
  
"You keep telling yourself that. Goodbye, losers!" she called, running off into the woods. They saw her slip off a tree branch in the distance and sweatdropped. "Um. . .goodbye now, losers!" Sigaru yelled, disappearing.  
  
"Good riddance. Let's go." Inuyasha said, starting off again.  
  
The others followed.  
  
*that night; several hours away from the valley*  
  
"Um. . .does anybody have any clue where we are?" Bridget asked after awhile.  
  
"Closer to Mt. Fuji, of course." Inuyasha replied.  
  
"Mountain Fuji!" Kisike said.  
  
". . ."  
  
Bridget looked around. "Um. . .maybe we should stop somewhere. . .it'll be dark soon." She said.  
  
"That seems like a good idea. We passed the last inn several hours ago, so we'll probably have to camp outside. We'll need to build a proper campsite." Miroku said, nodding.  
  
Inuyasha sighed. "Feh. Alright." He said.  
  
"There isn't any inns near here, but there's a hot springs nearby. We can camp near there!" Kouten said, riding on her cloud.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea." Amanda said.  
  
"Okay then! Just follow me!" Kouten said, flying off. The others had to jog to keep up with her. After about ten minutes, they came to a small clearing in the woods.  
  
"This spot seems good. We can set up camp here." Miroku sighed, sitting down.  
  
"Yeah." Raylin said, nodding.  
  
"It's a good thing we were able to buy some stuff at the last village!" Shippou said, digging into the bags that Raylin and Bridget had just set down. He pulled out several blankets.  
  
Raylin nodded again. She turned to the guys. "Well, you guys can set up the tents and stuff. Also, I think it would be a good idea if we could get fire going, so we'll need the snow in the campfire area dug away." She then turned to Kisike, Bridget, and Amanda. "I'm going to the hot springs. You guys want to come?"  
  
"Sure." The three said.  
  
Amanda glared at the boys. "You guys had better not think about peeking." She said.  
  
"Feh, I don't know why you'd be directing that towards me and Miroku. You'll probably have to worry about Miroku but I certainly don't wanna see anything." He said.  
  
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Miroku lied.  
  
"Liar."  
  
The girls grabbed some towels and yukatas (kimonos that are used mainly like bathrobes) and walked off.  
  
Miroku looked over at Inuyasha. "I suppose we should get to work. . ." he said.  
  
"I don't see why we have to set up the whole camp." Inuyasha said. "Besides, I'm not getting a good feeling about this place. There's something nearby. Or some things. . ." His eyes scanned the tree line.  
  
Miroku began setting up a tent. "Can't you smell what it is? Is it a demon?"  
  
"I'm not sure. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Oh, I get it. Tonight must be the night of the new moon." Shippou said.  
  
"New moon?" Kouten asked.  
  
"Yeah. That's when Inuyasha becomes a human."  
  
". . .Well thanks for blabbing it to the world, brat." Inuyasha said.  
  
"All of us that are here at the moment already knew except Kouten, and it was only a matter of time that she found out, anyway." Miroku said.  
  
"Feh." Inuyasha fell silent. 'My powers are leaving fast. . .it won't be very long till I'm human.' He thought. 'I wonder if it's happening to the girls, too.'  
  
Miroku set up a few more tents, then turned to Inuyasha. "Alright, Inuyasha. I'm going to take a walk. You can work some more on the campsite." He said, walking off.  
  
"A walk? Yeah right. He's just going to try peeking at the girls." Inuyasha muttered.  
  
"They're going to kill him. . ." Shippou said knowingly.  
  
"I would not be surprised."  
  
*At the hot springs*  
  
Amanda sighed and sank deeper in to the hot springs. "I'm so glad that we finally get a few moments to relax." She mumbled. Her friends all nodded their heads.  
  
"To bad Miroku has to ruin the moment." Raylin said, picking up a stone and quickly chucking it in to the bushes. Everyone heard a thonk, yelp, and then a big thud. They all stood up and went to the bushes. There lay Miroku with a big lump on his head and swirly eyes. Amanda stifled a giggle. "What are we going to do with him?" Raylin sighed, shaking her head.  
  
"Well he's your boyfriend." Amanda said nudging her in the shoulder with her finger. Raylin raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well I at least don't have a boyfriend that is technically (sp?) your nature's enemy."  
  
"OH please, my friend Kristine has a cat and dog, and neither of them ever fight, and they sleep with each other for crying out loud." Amanda said waving her hands in the air. " And. . ."  
  
"And what?"  
  
"And at least my boyfriend isn't a hentai." Amanda said in a singsong voice. Raylin growled and pounced at Amanda. She yelped as Raylin fell on top of her and pushed her underwater. Amanda came up coughing up water. "Hey that wasn't funny!" She protested. Raylin smirked.  
  
"Poor neko-jin." Raylin joked. Amanda grabbed her ankle and totally knocked her off balance. "What was that for? " She asked when she came up.  
  
"Nothing." Amanda said as she leaned up against a rock. 'Something's wrong. . .and I don't like it.' Amanda thought. She looked over at Bridget.  
  
The fairy-jin was looking at her funny. "What?!"  
  
"You look different. . ." Bridget said, scratching her head. She shrugged. "Oh well." She said as she went to concentrate on removing all traces of trash from her hair, which was quite a task.  
  
Amanda sighed and went to cleaning her self off. She removed the bandages from her arm. The gash in her arm was slightly smaller and it was healing quickly, "I sure wish I had demon blood in the other dimension, that would mean I would have only a few days to recover from a broken leg or something." Amanda commented as she dipped her arm in to the water and cleaned all the dried blood from it. Raylin looked at her.  
  
"That would be something, eh. . ." she whispered. After everyone was all cleaned up, they tied Miroku's wrists and ankles to his staff so he hung from it. They dressed and went back to camp with Miroku dangling from Kisike and Raylin. "That sure was relaxing. . .the hot springs I mean."  
  
"I haven't felt that relaxed in. . .quite a while." Bridget said as she rubbed her shoulders. "I need to pay another visit to my chiropractor. Remind me to talk to mom about that." She said to Amanda. Amanda raised an eyebrow.  
  
"When am I coming over to your house?" Amanda asked.  
  
"This week hopefully. . .remember our moms are trying to edge out the details today." Bridget said, rolling her eyes. Amanda smiled and rubbed the back of her head.  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Amanda said laughing. Raylin snorted and rolled her eyes. Kisike ran over to Amanda and started sniffing her. Amanda looked at Kisike strangely.  
  
"You smell funny." Kisike stated. Amanda hit her over the head.  
  
"STOP SNIFFING ME!!" Amanda shouted. Kisike hmphed and ran up a tree to pout. They broke through the trees at camp to see a black haired boy was sitting in there. He glanced at them and turned to tend to the fire. "Who are you?!" Amanda protested. She went up to him and looked him in the face. Shippou jumped on her head. "You look familiar. . ."  
  
"Of course I'm familiar, because I'm Inuyasha. . ." He grumbled. Amanda blinked.  
  
"Inuyasha? Why did you dye you hair?" Amanda asked as she ran her hands through his hair. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her back. She yelped and fell on her rear. She looked angrily at Inuyasha. "What was that for?!"  
  
Shippou jumped on her head. "Don't take it personally. . .Inuyasha always gets a bit more moody when it's a new moon."   
  
"Why is that?" Bridget asked. Shippou looked at her.  
  
"The new moon is Inuyasha' s time of weakness. . .and I guess it's your time of weakness also." Shippou said tugging at Amanda's hair. She growled and plucked him from his perch.   
  
"What do you mean my time of weakness?!" She asked bringing his face close to hers. Shippou sighed and put his hands on his head.  
  
"Do this." He ordered, Amanda frowned and did what he did.  
  
"What is this some time of kitsune game?" she asked. She froze, her face becoming pale. She couldn't feel her cat ears! She moved her hands along the side of her head until she found them. They were human, which meant. . . "I'm human!!!" Amanda shrieked. She ran back to the hot springs and looked at her reflection. Sure enough she had her human ears, and her fangs and claws were gone also. "I don't want to be human. . ." She moaned when she got back to camp.   
  
"No wonder you looked a little bit funny." Bridget said, crossing her arms. Amanda hmphed. She glanced at Inuyasha from the corner of her eye. He was just staring at the campfire with a deep thoughtful expression. There was a hint of sadness about him. "Miroku. . .did something happen during one of his times of weaknesses?" Bridget asked. Miroku shrugged.  
  
"If it did happen, he didn't tell me." Miroku stated. Shippou jumped on to Bridget's lap.  
  
"Yes something did happen, and I was there." Shippou said puffing his chest out proudly. Bridget ruffled his hair.  
  
"Well then what happened?" She asked. Shippou seemed to shrink a little.  
  
"We were tricked in to spending the night at a temple. There was a girl there that hated demons. Inuyasha didn't tell anybody that that night was his time of weakness so he couldn't smell the spider heads. They attacked us. . .eventually Inuyasha was trapped and bitten by the Giant Spiderhead, we all thought that Inuyasha was going to die. . .but he survived with Kagome's help. It was a really sappy moment with them. . ." Shippou explained. Bridget sighed.  
  
"Hey Amanda. . .why don't you get your self killed so Inuyasha could have another dead girl friend. . .because you are liable to be brought back to life." Raylin whispered. . .a little too loud because every one turned their heads to look at her. Amanda growled in her throat. She grabbed a water pail that they had brought with them.  
  
"I'm going to go get some more water. . ." Amanda said. Bridget stood up.  
  
"I'll come along." Bridget said, running after Amanda. When they were out of hearing range, Amanda relaxed.   
  
"Why can't Raylin ever keep her big mouth shut?!" Amanda said. Bridget shrugged. "Don't you sometimes wish that what was happening wasn't and that it was only a dream?"  
  
Bridget sighed and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. It's hard."  
  
"It's hard to know that your boyfriend has two dead girl friends and he will never tell me his feelings or what he's thinking. Shoot. . .I just about keel over ever other day when he gets hurt and just about dies. . .damn it. . .and I can't do anything to protect him." Amanda said, shaking her head. Bridget thought that she saw tears for a second. "I know he has lead a hard lifetime but. . ." Bridget held up her hand, stopping them in their tracks.  
  
"Something's following us. . ." She whispered. Amanda cursed her human ears and tried to strain her hearing so that she could help. "It's too slow to be one of our group. . .LOOK OUT!" Bridget shouted. Streams of webbing shot out from the trees. Amanda threw the bucket at one of the tree's branches where she thought that she saw a shadow move. The bucket hit something and toppled out of the tree. It was a spider like demon with a sword in one of its many hands.  
  
A bluish tint crept onto Amanda's face. "God, I hate spiders." She moaned. The spider opened its mouth and webs shot out. Bridget jumped in front of Amanda and whipped out her sword and sliced it in half. She then turned to Amanda who was covered in webbing. "I think we should go. . ." Amanda said raising her arms at shoulder length so that the webbing hung in midair. There was the sound of many feet moving in their direction. "Lets. . .go. . .please." Amanda said practically begged.  
  
Bridget and Amanda ran back to camp. "We have a problem." Bridget announced. Inuyasha leapt to his feet. "I think I have found a new meaning to arachnophobia"  
  
"You led the spiderheads to camp?!" Inuyasha asked, raising his voice a fraction of an inch. Amanda clenched her fists.  
  
"What do you think we should have done? Just have stayed out there and let the spiderheads just eat us for crying out loud?!" Amanda shouted, bearing her teeth.  
  
"I didn't mean it that way." Inuyasha snapped. Amanda crossed her arms.  
  
"Then what did you mean?" Amanda mumbled. Raylin stepped in between them.  
  
"Sorry to stop ya'll's little feud, but, um we got a whole army of spiderheads headed this way, and for your information. . .I HATE SPIDERS!" Raylin shouted. Amanda and Inuyasha fell over.  
  
"Ok, we get the picture. . ." Bridget said, rubbing her head. They quickly abandoned camp to the protests of Kouten who had to leave her half- eaten ramen noodles. They weren't but 200 feet from their camp when the ground beneath them blew out from under them. Everyone landed on their feet except Amanda who totally landed on her face.  
  
"Okay. . .now I know what it means to be -sat-." Amanda mumbled as she pulled herself out from the ground. She turned around to see a HUGE spiderhead. . .most likely their leader.  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on*  
  
Amanda: Um. . .guys?  
  
Raylin: What?  
  
Amanda:I seem to have absolutely nothing to put on the answering machine that sounds witty or funny. . .  
  
Raylin: What happened to the script we gave you?  
  
Bridget: Um, guys. . .Kouga has gotten into my set of pencils and is now scribbling on everything in sight. . .  
  
Raylin: *looks over at the scribbled on script* . . .Dammit. . .Well. . .just tell them to review and that may work. . .  
  
Amanda: Okay. Please review. We will try to update soon if our updater isn't too lazy. *threateningly* She'd better not be. . .  
  
Bridget: Meep. . .  
  
Kisike: So review at the sound of the screams in the background.  
  
Raylin: There's no screams in the background. . .  
  
Kisike: *puts on this evil homicidal voice* Heheh. . .not yet. . .  
  
*beep sounds* 


	21. Spiderman is our FRIENDLY neighborhood s...

Author's Note-Guess what! We've got good news and bad news. . .I'm sure you'll want to hear the bad news first: One of the authors to Tangerine is going on a two-week trip and she's taking the fic with her to write more. . . The good news is: We've got a lot more written than just this chapter now, so we can update until we get to the part that Kisike left, and we should have at enough for at least three or four more chapters. . . We got one Shikon shard from the video game Kisike got. . .yet we still don't own anything. . .Kouga's chewing on the Playstation right now, so here's the last good news: The next chapter is here. ^ ^  
  
"Inuyasha." It hissed. Its long neck stretched to stare at him from one eye. "It's been a long time."  
  
"I thought I killed you." Inuyasha shouted. The spiderhead seemed to smirk.  
  
"Thanks to the work the mighty Naraku, I survived to take my revenge out on you and your friends," it laughed. Amanda saw something in the bushes behind Inuyasha. It flew out from the bushes, aimed at Inuyasha's back.  
  
"Look out!" Amanda shouted and pushed him aside. A spiderhead sank its teeth deep into her arm. Amanda punched it in the face with her arm and rammed it into a nearby tree with a pointed stick she had some how gotten a hold of in two seconds time. She gripped her arm protectively and turned to the giant spiderhead. "That was a no-good trick that you pulled. . .trying to take Inuyasha from the back." She shouted. She turned to Inuyasha who just stared at her. "Are you ok?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah. . .I'm alright." He mumbled. Amanda smiled weakly.  
  
"That's good Inuyasha. . ." She whispered. Her eyes faded and she passed out. As she fell Bridget caught her and turned her friend over. She quickly glanced at Amanda's arm; the wound was starting to turn a light shade of purple around the puncture marks.  
  
"She's been poisoned." Bridget moaned under her breath. The spiderhead laughed when Inuyasha turned to him with rage in his eyes.  
  
"Sorry, Inuyasha. . .that blow was only meant for you. . .but oh well. . .might as well take the best of the little time that she has remaining to live. . .that dose contained more poison then I pumped you with in our last encounter." The spiderhead laughed. "Too bad you won't be there to see her in her last moments." He lunged at Inuyasha with his fangs dripping with poison. Inuyasha jerked to the side and avoided the blow. . .barely. He landed in front of Amanda and Bridget. As the spiderhead lunged again Inuyasha held out his sheathed Tetsusaiga. When the spiderhead almost hit, there was a blinding flash.  
  
"Bridget, there's is a shack in that direction. We passed by it not long ago," Inuyasha said pointing. "I'll follow you." Bridget nodded, having to blink several times to get her bearings. Miroku picked up Amanda, he and the others following Bridget as they ran for the shack.  
  
Amanda whimpered and gripped Miroku's robes tightly in her fist. "Inuyasha." she whispered. They heard shouts of Inuyasha dodging yet another blow. Quickly, they found the shack and went into it. The shack was about the size of a small room. Miroku set her down gently in the middle of it. A second later Inuyasha busted in and jammed the tip of the Tetsusaiga in to it so that it wedged the door firmly in the frame.  
  
"That should stop the spiderheads for a few hours." Inuyasha said, dusting his hands off. He turned to Bridget. "How is she doing?" he asked with his voice barely over a whisper.  
  
Amanda opened her eyes before Bridget could respond. " Inuyasha?" she asked. Inuyasha crept over to her and sat down beside her.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked. Amanda's eyes began to tear up.  
  
"I'm so cold." she quietly replied. Inuyasha smiled weakly and gathered her up in his arms. "I don't want to die. . ." she whispered as Inuyasha took off his firerat-skin shirt and wrapped her up in it. Amanda then slipped to the verge of unconsciousness. Inuyasha turned to Bridget and frowned.  
  
"There must be something we have to help neutralize the poison." Inuyasha begged. Bridget's shoulders sagged.  
  
"Everything we have is back at the camp. I'm sorry. . ." Bridget replied. Raylin started to think franticly.  
  
"Can't we suck out the poison?" she asked. Miroku shook his head.  
  
"If we do that, we could endanger your life as well as hers." Miroku said resting his head in his hands. Raylin hit him over the head.  
  
"You're a monk! Can't you do anything about it?!"  
  
"I would if I could, Lady Raylin. We just have many options at hand. . .the only thing we can do is wait and hope." Miroku sighed. Raylin looked like she was on her wits end. She walked over to Amanda and Inuyasha and sat down in front of Amanda.  
  
'Amanda, I was only joking about being another dead girlfriend if you ever died. . .I hope you didn't take that personally. . .I'm sorry Amanda. . .I don't want you to die. . .even though you always call Miroku a hentai.' Raylin hit Miroku over the head when he was just about to grab her. (A/N: When did he get untied from his staff. . .? *shrugs* Oh well.) 'Yes. . .well. I can see where you were going with that.'  
  
Everyone was quiet and grim. Raylin looked around. The shack was littered with a few things. . .a bucket here, an old child's outfit there. Finally she stood up, raising a fist. "I don't care who's out there! We need to get to the camp and get some medicine for her!"  
  
Bridget blinked. "Do you actually think we stand a chance out there?"  
  
"Sure. I don't really know how to ward off spiders but I do know how to keep the poison under control for a couple hours." Raylin said. She turned to the guys. "There's some old outfits in here. Take the cloth and use it as a bandage. Wrap the entire limb, not just the bite. Be sure to keep the bandage firm but not tight. If it's too tight, it'll cut off her circulation. It's called the pressure/immobilization method." She instructed. Miroku nodded and grabbed an outfit, beginning to rip it into a bandage.  
  
Bridget raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you read this from?" she asked.  
  
"Spider website. Very educational one, too." Raylin said, nodding.  
  
Inuyasha looked up at the girls. "Wait a second! Don't tell me that you're planning on going out there yourselves to get the medicine!" he exclaimed.  
  
"We got shoes. We could squash 'em!" Kisike said cheerfully.  
  
". . .We're going to need a lot bigger shoes, 'Sike." Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Awww. . .okiedokie then."  
  
"It's too dangerous! They'll kill you!" Inuyasha said.  
  
"I have to agree with Inuyasha. Going out there is suicide." Miroku said.  
  
"Heh. We'll just see who's doing the killing. . ." Kisike said in her homicidal voice and grinning.  
  
Bridget sweatdropped again. ". . .Oh god. She's gone into her Johnny the Homicidal Maniac mode again. . .But hey, she's got a point. Don't forget, Kisike and I are half demon, and Raylin's an elf." She said.  
  
"Well I'll go with you. I've fought these spiderheads before." Inuyasha said, beginning to stand up.  
  
Bridget put a hand on his shoulder. "No," she said. "Amanda needs you here."  
  
"She's right. If we're not back in twenty minutes, we're probably dead or in really big trouble." Raylin said.  
  
"How long is twenty minutes?" Shippou asked.  
  
Raylin sweatdropped. "None of you know how to tell time?" she asked.  
  
"No. . ." the guys and kids said.  
  
Raylin sighed and tossed Miroku her watch. The watch read 12:45. "Now, see the big arrow on the nine? It's been twenty minutes when it points to the one, see?" she said, pointing to the one.  
  
Miroku blinked and squinted at the watch. "I. . .can't really see the numbers. . ." he said.  
  
"Oh yeah. . ." Raylin said, noticing that it was dark in the hut. She pushed a button on the watch, making it glow.  
  
"I see now. . ." Miroku said.  
  
"Yeah. But the glow won't stay on forever. It'll go off soon, so you'll have to press the button I did, okay?"  
  
Miroku nodded. "I understand, Lady Raylin."  
  
"Ooooh. . .it lights up. . .pretty!" Kouten said. The others sweatdropped.  
  
"Um. . .yeah. . ." Raylin said. She opened the door. "Let's rock." She said, walking out.  
  
"Wheee!" Kisike yelled, running out of the hut. There was the loud yell of "OW!" that cut through the night. . .because Kisike had accidentally run into a tree.  
  
Everybody sweatdropped. "Oh boy. . ." Bridget muttered. "We're in trouble. . ."  
  
"I'm okay!" Kisike yelled. "I'm okay. . ." They could hear her slice some branches off the tree in revenge, laughing a homicidal laugh.  
  
". . .She keeps it up, they're going to find us. . ." Raylin muttered.  
  
"Don't worry. If we're going into battle and she's switched into her homicidal personality, that's probably a good thing." Bridget replied.  
  
She and Raylin shut the door and followed Kisike into the night.  
  
"You think they'll be alright?" Miroku asked.  
  
"They'd better be alright." Inuyasha muttered. 'If they're not, Amanda will never forgive me. . .'  
  
***  
  
"I really hope Amanda doesn't die while we're gone. . ." Bridget said worriedly as they marched through the forest.  
  
"Don't worry! If she does, she'll just be brought back by the Will of the Universe." Kisike said.  
  
". . .You've been watching Excel Saga again, haven't you?" Bridget said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Teehee. Dahggie!" She said, sounding much like Excel.  
  
Raylin rolled her eyes. "I doubt the Will of the Universe will bring her back to life." She said. "Even if there was one, it would probably be in the Excel Saga dimension, but not here."  
  
"Awww. . ." Kisike said. Bridget held her sword and Raylin held her bow.  
  
"You know, it'd probably be a good idea if we kept quiet and listened for spiderheads that might try to creep up on us." Bridget said.  
  
Raylin nodded silently. Kisike hummed. ". . .Kisike, that means shut up." Raylin said.  
  
"Oh! Oh, I see how it is. . .You're all against me! Pi-ti-ful humans!" Kisike said loudly, pointing at her.  
  
". . ."  
  
"With this keeping up, I can tell we're all gonna die." Bridget muttered, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Whee!" Kisike said.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Well you know. . .everyone dies. . .eventually, anyways. Unless the storyline can't survive without you. . .then you get brought back by the Will of the Universe. But to do that, you have to die anyways. Besides, look how many times Goku died! More than any other human I know. . . Of course, I don't know anybody that's died. . .yet. . .and Goku isn't a NORMAL human. In fact, he isn't human at all! He's a Saiya-jin. So-"  
  
". . .Shut her up. . ." Bridget muttered to Raylin.  
  
"She has the duct tape." Raylin said. She hesitated, then shrugged and hit Kisike over the head, giving the neko-jin swirly eyes. Kisike wavered from side to side, then shook her head to clear it and glared at Raylin.  
  
"Hey! Hey, hey! Hey!" she yelled. ". . .I'm going to have to kill you now. Goodbye." She said.  
  
". . .No killing each other, please. We're almost there." Bridget said. She paused. "Hang on, I hear something. . ." she said.  
  
Kisike blinked. "Oh yeah. . .I hear it too. . ." she said. She heard the sound in the trees. She waved at where she heard the sound. "Hi up there!" she greeted in a Gir-like voice.  
  
". . .Idiot. . ." Raylin muttered.  
  
"Welll, look who's here. Three of the hanyou's friends." Said a spiderhead. It wasn't the leader, but it looked like it was probably a VIS (Very Important Spiderhead). "I was told to leave the hanyou to our leader, but told I could kill some of his friends."  
  
"Oooh. . .sounds fun. . .but. . ." Kisike said, jumping up to slash at him. "No thank you!" The spiderhead somehow managed to dodge and shot some web at her while she was still in the air. "Gah! What the?! GET THIS STUFF OFF OF ME!" she yelled, tied up in webbing. The spiderhead laughed evilly.  
  
"Now you're caught in my web." He said.  
  
"Oh, sure, state the obvious, why don't you?" Kisike grumbled. "I HATE SPIDERS! And bugs. . .and. . .yeah. . .I think you get the idea. . ." she yelled.  
  
"Eat arrow!" Raylin shouted, firing an arrow at the spiderhead. It missed him by about three feet.  
  
Bridget sweatdropped. "You missed. . ." she said.  
  
"Hey, at least I'm getting better!" Raylin exclaimed.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped as well. "Better doesn't cut it!" she yelled. "Hurry up and kill it before I kill you!"  
  
"Well, actually you can't really do that if you're dead. . .that is, unless somebody brings you back to life. . ."  
  
"RAYLIN!"  
  
Bridget tried slicing the web. "Dammit. . .it won't cut. . ." she said angrily.  
  
"Well yeah. Spider webs are supposed to be as strong as steel. If you're a bug, that is." Raylin said.  
  
"I'M NOT A BUG!" Kisike yelled in frustration. "Stop telling us a bunch of useless facts and get a giant shoe!"  
  
". . .We don't have a giant shoe."  
  
Bridget shook her head. "Look," she said, "If you can't destroy the trap, at least destroy the owner." She said. With that, she ran at the spiderhead with her sword. The spiderhead shot webbing at her too. With faerie speed, she managed to dodge that attack, but ran right into a separate web. "Dammit!"  
  
"Fools. This is child's play." The spider said.  
  
". . .Oh great. Now only Raylin is left to save us. We're all gonna die. Right now, I mean." Kisike said.  
  
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Raylin demanded.  
  
"That you need to stop giving us a lesson on spiders and get us outta this!" Kisike shot back.  
  
Bridget sweatdropped as she watched the two argue. She noticed webbing wrapping around the trees and into a circle, then forming a web right above them, trapping them inside. "Um. . .guys?" she asked. The two didn't notice her. "Guys. . .?" she tried again. No noticing. "GUYS!" She yelled.  
  
The two girls turned to her. "WHAT?!" they yelled back.  
  
". . .Look." She said, clearly annoyed. She jerked her head at the webs since her arms were bound to her sides. Her sword was lying on the ground in front of her and she was bound against a tree. Kisike was wrapped up in webbing too, but she was hanging upside-down.  
  
"Oh crap. . ." Raylin said, looking around.  
  
"Stupid girls. While you three have been arguing, I have ensnarled you all in my web." The spiderhead said.  
  
". . .Oh joy. You know, maybe life's trying to get back at me for accidentally not feeding the spiders I caught back in third grade and letting them die." Bridget commented, -.-'ing.  
  
"You did that?" Raylin asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Bridget nodded. "Yeah. I went around the neighborhood looking for spiders to keep as pets since we were learning about them in school, and when I found them, I put them in a coke bottle. I kinda forgot to feed them. . .I think they actually became cannibalistic. . ." Bridget replied casually.  
  
Raylin and Kisike sweatdropped. "Yeah, I know. I was a weird kid, okay?" Bridget sighed.  
  
"Um. . .okay, but. . .it might not be a good idea to start saying that in front of Spiderman here. . .it'll probably piss him off. . ." Raylin said.  
  
"This ain't Spiderman! Spiderman is our FRIENDLY neighborhood spider! Spiderman doesn't eat people!" Kisike yelled.  
  
". . .Good point. . .well, what do we call him, then? Mr. Spiderhead?"  
  
".Does it really matter? I mean, we're about to get eaten here." Bridget said, sweatdropping.  
  
"Well I would like to know the name of my killer before I die." Kisike said.  
  
The spiderhead sweatdropped, not being able to believe that these girls could carry on casual conversation in the face of death. Besides, who the hell was Spiderman?! "Stupid girls! Stupid, stupid girls! I'm about to kill you and you're talking about this. . .this Spiderman?!" he yelled. The girls continued to ignore him.  
  
"I will give you five bucks if his name is Mr. Spiderhead." Bridget said.  
  
"I thought you were broke!" Raylin said.  
  
"Okay, okay, I did spend my allowance on that new manga. . .but I'll pay you next time I get my allowance. If you're right, that is."  
  
"Alright, then how will we know if I'm right?" Raylin asked.  
  
". . .Why don't you ask him?"  
  
"Me?! I hate spiders! Get Kisike to ask him!"  
  
"What?! And you think I like spiders?!" Kisike demanded. "Bridget, you ask him! You were the one that collected them when you were a kid!"  
  
". . .Oh gee, thanks." Bridget said sarcastically. She turned to the spiderhead. "Oi, what's your name?"  
  
". . .Idiots. . ." the spiderhead said.  
  
"Your name is Idiots? That is a very stupid name. . ." Kisike said, nodding.  
  
". . ." The spiderhead said. A web shot out and slammed into Raylin, sticking her to the wall of webbing behind her.  
  
"Oh, I love this. . ." Raylin said sarcastically.  
  
"Now, which of you three should I eat first?" the spider said.  
  
"Um. . .'Sike?" Raylin asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Kisike asked.  
  
"You have your Raid with you, right?"  
  
"Yeah! Hey, I could spray him in the eye! Then he'd be blind! Wait. . .he has two eyes. . .Besides, I can't get my hands free. . .Dang it. . ." Kisike said.  
  
"I know! I'll eat the short one first!" the spiderhead said, lunging at Bridget.  
  
". . .Alright, now you're going down. Nobody calls me short and gets away with it." Bridget said, twisting her wrist slightly and resting her hand on the tree she was tied to. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A faint green glow floated around the treetops, and suddenly the branches grew until they crowded the enclosed circle, trapping the spiderhead. She then twisted her wrist the other way and stuck her hand to the web, then let out a burst of ki. The energy was enough to melt the web where her palm was. She did the same with her other hand.  
  
"Alright, you got your hands free. . .so what now?" Raylin asked.  
  
"This." Bridget said, putting her hands on her arms and melting the web there too. She then reached out, grabbed a tree branch, and pulled herself out. She collapsed to her knees, the tree branches scratching her face slightly and catching her long hair.  
  
". . .You okay?" Kisike asked.  
  
"Yeah. . ." Bridget said wearily as she grabbed her sword. She stood up and cut the web wall that Raylin was stuck to and cut the web around Raylin. She then went over to Kisike and cut her down. Kisike toppled to the ground.  
  
". . .Ouch. . ."  
  
Bridget cut the web off Kisike. Kisike jumped up and grinned, pulling the tiny and portable bottle of Raid that she kept in her pocket. "Hah! Haha! Hah!" She said. She ran over to the spiderhead and sprayed the Raid in one of his eyes. The spiderhead screamed in pain.  
  
Kisike smirked and shook the can. "Alright, let's go. Especially now that I'm equipped with my Raid."  
  
Bridget rolled her eyes.  
  
"I hardly think a can of Raid is enough to kill a spiderhead." Raylin said. "Especially one of that size."  
  
"Mwahahahaha! Just watch!" Kisike said. "I shall annoy them to death!"  
  
". . .Oh god. Well, we know she could do that easily." Bridget said, smiling weakly. She sliced the web wall. "Let's go. . ." she said. The three ran to the camp.  
  
"Where's the stuff. . .?" Raylin demanded, searching the camp.  
  
"It was supposed to be right here!" Bridget replied from one side of the camp. "I think the spiderheads took it."  
  
"Damn. . .After all that trouble too. . ." Raylin growled.  
  
"The others are not going to be too happy to hear this. . ." Bridget said.  
  
Kisike and Raylin nodded. Kisike blinked. "Hey. . .I think I hear something. . ." she said.  
  
"Yeah, same here. . ." Bridget said. The three stood back-to-back-to- back and looked around.  
  
"Right there!" Raylin suddenly shouted as she jumped up and out of the way of an oncoming web. The other two jumped out of the way as well.  
  
"Dammit. . .we're surrounded. . ." Bridget muttered as she looked around at all the glowing eyes peering out from the darkness of the trees.  
  
"They must have heard their comrade's scream. . ." Raylin stated.  
  
"What now?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Well we can't go back without the medicine. . ." Raylin said.  
  
Kisike got into fighting stance, claws ready. "I say we kill them all. . ." she said.  
  
"But there's too many of them. . ." Bridget said.  
  
"If we don't fight them, then we're going to die anyway. Now. . .attack!" Kisike yelled, charging at one of the spiderheads.  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on*  
  
Bridget: Kouga! Give that back!  
  
Amanda: I don't think he knows that Playstation isn't a chew toy. . .  
  
Raylin: Well he's going to have to learn! *sounds of tugging in the background, then a crash*  
  
Bridget: We got it back. . .oro. . .  
  
Raylin: Yeah. . .um. . .shouldn't we do the answering machine while it's still on? Before Kouga chews on it. . .  
  
Kisike: I'll do it! Now, evil that we left you at a cliffy, ne? But don't worry! The next chapter should be up soon! *to Bridget * Right?  
  
Bridget: Yeah.  
  
Kisike: Yeah. And I'll be sure to write more.  
  
Amanda: You sure?  
  
Kisike: *yells* Of course!  
  
Bridget: Oro. . .  
  
Kisike: Stop talking like Kenshin! Anyways, review at the tortured screams and come back soon! Ja ne!  
  
Raylin: *sighs* Kisike, that's the beep, not the tortured screams. . .  
  
Kisike: Heheh. . .  
  
*tortured screams are heard. . .then a beep* 


	22. I'm Inuyasha The half demon Now Lets go

Author's Note-Hey.this is the quickest I've posted in a while.anyways, we own nothing, we haven't found any new Shikon shards, and Kisike left us to babysit Kouga who was currently staying in her attic. Here's the new chapter.  
  
Amanda looked around. She couldn't see much. There was a thick fog surrounding her. Wherever she was, it was cold, too. She shivered. "Where am I. . .?" she asked herself. "Why am I not back in my dimension. . .? Am I. . .dead?" she wondered.  
  
"Hello? Is there anybody out there?" She called. Her voice echoed around her. "Hellooo!" she tried again.  
  
"Amanda!" Inuyasha called, running over to her. Amanda looked over and could see his shadow in the fog.  
  
"Inuyasha!" She exclaimed. Inuyasha embraced her in a hug. "I'm so scared. . .where are we. . .am I dead?" she asked him.  
  
Inuyasha looked down at her, then looked away. "Amanda. . ." he started.  
  
"You're not dead." Said a familiar voice behind Amanda. It was Kagome's. "But you're gonna be."  
  
Amanda's went wide as three arrows struck her in her back. Inuyasha disappeared and Amanda fell to her knees and then fell forward. "At least. . .at least Inuyasha isn't hurt. . ." she whispered. She started to shed light tears of pain.  
  
"Foolish girl. You and your friends will never live long enough to leave this place. And after I have the four of you killed, I shall move on to your other friends. Evil will overcome this dimension. . .it shall be the first step of my conquest. . .and you nor your friends can stop me!" A voice boomed around her.  
  
Amanda groaned and struggled to get to her knees, but couldn't. "Time no longer has any meaning for you. You won't live long enough for it to become a part of your life now. The prophecy shall be wrong-I will make sure of that-and there will be no coming back this time for you." The voice continued.  
  
"What. . .?" she muttered faintly. "Who are you. . .?" she demanded weakly, lifting her head slightly. The shadow of someone approached through the fog. "Inuyasha. . .?" she asked.  
  
"No." Spoke a quiet voice. It was a man. He had short black hair and brown eyes, and had kind eyes with a hint of treachery. "He is the all- knowing. And I am no one you should concern yourself with. If you live. . ." he started. He suddenly vanished.  
  
A mask and a candle fell near Amanda's hands. "What's this. . .?" Amanda asked. "A mask and a candle. . .?" she asked. "What's going on. . .? Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" She called.  
  
***  
  
"Inuyasha!" Amanda yelled.  
  
Inuyasha winced. "Dammit. . .I wish there was something I could do to help her. . ." he muttered. He had bandaged Amanda's arm. Miroku sat by the door, intently staring at the watch. Kouten and Shippou stayed in the corner. Inuyasha had a feeling that they were probably asleep.  
  
'Amanda. . .I want to help you. . .but I can't. . .not right now, anyways. . .' he thought. 'This is all my fault. If only. . .if only I was sure that that spiderhead was dead. . .it was really after me. . .I should have been more careful! Now you're going to die.just like Kikyo. . .just like Kagome. . .and it's going to be all my fault again!'  
  
"Inuyasha," Miroku spoke up, "it's been about twenty minutes. I'm worried. . ." he said, glancing at the door.  
  
"I'm going to go out and look for them." Inuyasha said, standing up. "You make sure Amanda doesn't die."  
  
"Inuyasha, it would be much more feasible if you let me go out and look. At least I can use my air void. You, on the other hand. . .you're powerless and without a weapon tonight." Miroku said.  
  
"Afraid not. Don't forget, if this is a trap set up by Naraku, then there are definitely those hell wasps that you'll have to deal with. Besides, who says the spiderheads won't poison your air void?" Inuyasha replied. He opened the door. "I'll be right back. And I'll be back with the medicine and the girls too."  
  
He walked outside and looked around. "Now, where did they go. . .?" he muttered. A yell suddenly sounded out throughout the forest. His head snapped in that direction. "There!" he exclaimed, running in the direction of the yell. He saw a web up ahead and ran around it, continuing until he came to where the camp was.  
  
***  
  
"Like I said, there's just too many of them!" Bridget said as she dodged another web.  
  
Kisike looked around at all the spiderheads. "Aw. . .they're so cute. . .BUT WHO CARES?!" she yelled, sounding much like Excel.  
  
Bridget and Raylin sweatdropped. "Uh. . .yeah. . ." Bridget said slowly.  
  
"These things are not 'cute'. They're spiders for Pete's sake." Raylin said.  
  
"Yes! Kill 'em all!" Kisike yelled. She blinked. "Wait. . .who is Pete?"  
  
"Hey, duck!" Raylin yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"No, duck, duck!"  
  
". . ." Kisike ducked as a spider web blew over her head.  
  
Bridget stepped aside to avoid the continuing web. "We're wasting time. We need to hurry up and find the medicine." She said.  
  
"But how?" Raylin asked.  
  
Bridget glanced around. "I'm not. . ." she started to say. She stumbled and her eye caught the gleam of a Shikon shard. 'A shard. . .' she thought.  
  
"Bridget, something wrong? Don't tell me you're tired already." Raylin said, raising an eyebrow as she tilted her head to the side, dodging a web.  
  
"Forget me, but answer this: Does anyone in our group have the Shikon shards with them?" Bridget asked.  
  
"Yeah. . .Inuyasha has them. . ."  
  
"Good. Alright then, see that spiderhead over there?" Bridget asked, nodding over at a spiderhead.  
  
Raylin and Kisike nodded, looking over at the spiderhead.  
  
"That spiderhead has a Shikon shard. If I'm right, it's a VIS taking a shard to its leader." Bridget explained.  
  
"Ooooh. . .let's kill it!" Kisike said, running after the spiderhead with the Shikon shard. A web shot out at her and wrapped around her right arm. ". . .Dernit!" She slashed the web off with her claws and continued running, but of course, now the spiderhead had a head start. "I will be back soon!" Kisike yelled, disappearing into the night.  
  
"Wait! It isn't safe to go after that thing alone!" Bridget yelled.  
  
"I'll follow her if you guys don't need help here." A voice said at the side of the camp.  
  
Bridget and Raylin turned to look over at Inuyasha. ". . .Why aren't you in the shack?!" Raylin demanded.  
  
"To save you guys and get the medicine." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Bad news: The spiderheads have the medicine." Bridget replied.  
  
"Shit. . ." Inuyasha said. He then proceeded to run off a string of wordy-derds that we will yet again not repeat for fear of young minds.  
  
"I think we've pretty much got this under control. You just see if Kisike's dead yet." Raylin said, dodging another web. 'I don't have time to fit an arrow onto my bow. . .only to dodge. . .' she thought.  
  
Inuyasha hesitated at this. "You sure? You really don't look like you have it under control. . ." he started.  
  
"Just go, dammit!" Bridget yelled in frustration as she hacked away with her sword at the spider webs coming at her.  
  
That was enough for Inuyasha. He took off after the neko-jin. Raylin sighed. 'Baka Inuyasha. . .he could easily get himself killed doing this.and then Amanda's gonna kill us. . .and I'm gonna kill Inuyasha's corpse if the others are dead because he left when we come back. . .if we come back. . .' she thought as she barely dodged another web.  
  
***  
  
"Kisike! Kisike!" Inuyasha yelled as he ran. He saw a dark figure up ahead. ". . .Oi, Cat-brat!" he yelled. The figure froze.  
  
"Cat-brat. . ." she echoed, obviously a bit annoyed. ". . .Baka Inu. . ." she said. Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he came to a stop next to Kisike. "I don't know why you're bothering to follow me; you'll just get in my way. You should have stayed with the others and let me kill you later on when I go on my killing spree and destroy everyone on the planet. . ." she said.  
  
Inuyasha rolled his eyes again. "Feh. Like you could. Besides, you three we obviously not doing so great by yourselves. . ."  
  
"And we're going to do much worse now that you're here. Oh well. Might as well die sometime." Kisike said. She smiled. "C'mon."  
  
She started off again, Inuyasha sighing heavily and following close behind her. A few minutes later, they slowed to a stop in a small clearing.  
  
"Damn. . .where'd he go.." Kisike mumbled, her eyes narrowing as they darted around, searching every inch of the clearing. Inuyasha stopped just in front of her, letting out a long sigh.  
  
"You let him get away?" He asked. Kisike glared at him, then shook her head and growled.  
  
"It's your fault, you're the one who stopped me! You fool, if you hadn't slowed me down I would've caught up to him by now!" She yelled, curling her hands into tight fists. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and snorted.  
  
"Don't blame your screw-ups on me, cat." He grumbled, crossing his arms and lifting his chin slightly. He yipped as Kisike hit him up side the head. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" He demanded. Kisike scoffed and walked a bit farther out into the grassy area.  
  
"Well. . .knowing those cowards he's probably long gone, around this area and back to his master by now. Shall we head back?" She asked as she turned to face Inuyasha. Inuyasha sighed and stretched.  
  
"We need to find that medicine. . .I'm not sure how long Amanda's gonna last.." He started to say something more, before shout rang throughout the trees. Inuyasha's ears flicked and Kisike turned sharply. "What was it.." Inuyasha asked finally. Kisike blinked and shook her head.  
  
"Not sure. . .think it was Raylin or Bridget?" She wondered aloud, looking up at the treetops. Inuyasha twitched slightly.  
  
"I don't know, but we need to find that medicine!" He growled, starting back towards the shout. Kisike blinked at the back of Inuyasha, then sighed, slowly walking after him. She stopped short when she heard something behind her. Turning sharply, she gasped, her nails extending just in time to get them tangled up in the webbing spewed out by a spider head. She grimaced and yelped, pulling at her arms, which were now covered in sticky web stuff.  
  
"INUYASHAAAAA!" She yelled, grimacing again and sliding forward, even as she rocked back on her heels and brought her weight fully against the pull of the spiderhead, which just so happened to be a particularly large spiderhead. Kisike yelped as she caught sight of another onslaught of webbing shot towards her, aimed at her legs, she jumped up, falling forward, getting only one leg caught in the webbing, flipping her over, while the other leg came up as much as she could make it while lying on her back on the ground. The cluster of web that missed attached to the ground behind her and pulled a large chunk of earth up from the ground as the spider head reeled his web back in.  
  
***  
  
Inuyasha turned quickly on his heel, hearing Kisike yell, he ran back to the clearing as fast as he could, and Raylin and Bridget soon came up on either side of him, weapons out and ready. Raylin lowered her bow slightly, having aimed it at the largest spiderhead.  
  
"How much time does Amanda have?" She asked quietly. Bridget narrowed her eyes.  
  
"About twenty minutes. . .it'll take us maybe that long to get back to the cabin and get all the components right in the potion.." She said slowly. Inuyasha snorted and growled softly.  
  
"Dammit. . .what are they doing. . ." He wondered out loud. Raylin shrugged and rearmed her bow and arrow. Kisike whimpered softly from her place, currently being slowly wrapped into a silky coffin by the large spider head. She turned her head slightly, able to see the three barely out of the corner of her eye.  
  
All at once the Master Spiderhead seemed to drop from the sky, landing just about a few feet from Kisike's half covered body, squashing the 'large' spiderhead beneath two of his legs. Kisike's eyes went wide as a few droplets of blood landed on her cheek. The main spiderhead grinned maniacally at Inuyasha, Bridget, and Raylin. His main eyes focused on Inuyasha.  
  
"Your human woman has 15 minutes to live now. . ." The bag of medicine plopped down just beside Kisike's knee, about 22 feet away from Inuyasha. One leg from the spiderhead twitched, and then moved so his foot pressed down on her forehead. Kisike ducked her head slightly and groaned, her cheeks turning a light blue color as she closed her eyes tightly. "Take the medicine or the girl. . .one or the other. . .I suggest you choose quickly."  
  
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly as he took a small step forward, knowing there was no time to waste if he wanted to get the medicine back to Amanda before she died. "I have your word none of my friends will be attacked by you from now on..?" He asked, looking up sternly at the spiderhead. The main spider head grinned and cracked his neck, jerking his head to the side as he began rolling Kisike in the webbing the other spiderheads were spitting out again.  
  
"Of course. . .my word as the Leader of the Spiderheads." He said, bowing his head momentarily. Inuyasha's eyes wavered momentarily, he felt Bridget and Raylin's eyes boring into the back of his skull as he picked up the medicine, carefully making sure his eyes never came in contact with anything near Kisike, and he turned, walking back into the woods. Bridget and Raylin blinked repeatedly.  
  
"You. . .can't. . ." Raylin started.  
  
"We can't just leave her here!!" Bridget yelled, turning to glare at Inuyasha. Inuyasha stopped, but didn't turn back.  
  
"We better get back to Amanda. . .before she dies. . ." He murmured, bowing his head slightly, his bangs shading his eyes almost completely. Bridget glared darkly, jerking her head to the side.  
  
"So we just leave her here??" Raylin demanded. Inuyasha nodded and started walking again. Bridget ran in front of him and growled.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are??" She ground out. Inuyasha growled as well, grabbing Bridget's right forearm.  
  
"I'm Inuyasha. The half demon. And if you two don't come with me right now they're going to kill Kisike. Now. Let's go." He growled, dragging Bridget along behind him. Raylin hesitated for a moment, and then followed silently.  
  
***  
  
A tall man with short black hair walked calmly up to the castle. He had a white buttoned shirt and black pants with a black cape around his shoulders. He knew where he was going, and yet, showed no fear. The guards of the castle saw him though and crossed their swords. "Halt! Who goes?" one of the guards demanded.  
  
"No one of your concern. I am here to see the lord of this castle on business." The man said coolly.  
  
"We were given no notice of your arrival." The other guard said.  
  
"I have an offer to make him. . .I was sent by my leader."  
  
The guards exchanged glances. The first one spoke up. "You're probably nothing more than a mere bandit. Leave now or we shall slay you." He said.  
  
"I will not go until I have a chance to speak to the lord of this castle."  
  
"Then you shall die!" the guard yelled, reaching for his sword.  
  
The man, as quick as lightning, slashed the guard in two with his sword, then turned to the other guard and did the same. "I suppose I shall let myself in," he said, watching the two guards fall. He pushed the gates open and walked inside the castle. He walked through the castle as if he knew exactly where to go, and honestly, he did. He opened the door to one of the rooms and walked in.  
  
The green-haired hanyou looked up, and then stood up. "You have slain my guards." He said.  
  
The man nodded. "Yes. They were weak humans. It was simple enough." He said.  
  
"Who sent you?"  
  
"My master." Said the man. "The All-Knowing, and the most powerful of all mortals and immortals. He has an offer."  
  
There was a pause. Then, "I'm listening."  
  
"My master is powerful, but not yet at his full power, though it is building. There are four young girls that are a threat to this, though. When he reaches his full power, his power will be unrivaled. Darkness, evil, and chaos will rule over this world and even more. He will form his own council of immortals of evil from separate worlds, and if you capture these four girls, you may become immortal as well, not to mention unstoppable with the powers of a demi-god in this world. You won't even need the Shikon no Tama." The man said.  
  
"Tell me your name, then tell me your plans and how I achieve this."  
  
"I am the shape shifter named Shido. And to achieve this, you must get these four girls and not kill them." The man started. "And this is how. . ."  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on*  
  
Amanda: The plot thickens!  
  
Raylin: Well of course, it's supposed to thicken! It would be a pretty dull fanfic if it didn't!  
  
Amanda: I was doing it for the sake of dramatics. Now shush. Do not make me get the duct tape.  
  
Bridget: . . .You're both insane. *glances over at Kouga, who's playing Kisike's Inuyasha video game and happily beating Inuyasha, who's being controlled by the video game* . . .Since when did we agree to this? And why does he have to stay at my house?  
  
Amanda: Because Raylin's dogs fear him and he'll rip up my Inuyasha plushie.  
  
Bridget: My bunny fears him!  
  
Raylin: Your bunny can defend itself. Haven't you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? The man-eating bunny? Yeah. . .  
  
Bridget: -.- I don't own a man-eating bunny. He eats veggies. Anyways, review at the sound of the beep. *has taken off the tortured screams that Kisike put on the answering machine*  
  
*the beep sounds* 


	23. This world is corrupt

Author's Note-We do not own Inuyasha, Excel Saga, or anything like that, but we will when we get all the Shikon shards. That's all I've really got to say at the moment. . .but here's the new chapter.  
  
Inuyasha, Raylin, and Bridget arrived at where the shack. . .used to be. All that was there was a pile of splintered wood and stuff. "No.but they said. . .Dammit!" Inuyasha yelled. "Amanda!" he yelled. "Miroku? Kouten? Shippou?"  
  
"We're right here!" Miroku yelled, somewhat far off.  
  
"Tell Amanda to hang on; we've got the medicine!" Inuyasha yelled back.  
  
The three ran deeper into the woods. Inuyasha stopped at a thicket where he thought he heard Miroku. "Where. . .?" he muttered.  
  
"Over here!" Shippou called, a little off to their left. They turned to come to a small camp. There was no fire or anything; everybody was sitting or lying on the snow. Miroku was pacing.  
  
"How is she?!" Inuyasha demanded. Miroku lowered his head.  
  
"She's about dead. She'll perhaps last about three more hours. . .four, if she's lucky." He said. Inuyasha shoved the medicine to him.  
  
"Here. You make the medicine. I know nothing about that stuff. Shippou, Kouten, you help him." He walked over and sat next to Amanda. "What happened to the shack?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the girl.  
  
"The spiderheads attacked it." Miroku said. "We ran out of there as fast as we could, but taking Lady Amanda here has apparently sapped some of her strength."  
  
Shippou blinked and counted the group that had returned. After doing so about five times, he asked, "Inuyasha, where's Kisike?"  
  
Inuyasha didn't reply and closed his eyes. Shippou blinked and looked over at Bridget and Raylin, who didn't reply either.  
  
"She's not dead, is she. . .?" Kouten asked, eyes wide.  
  
"Thanks to Inuyasha, she probably is." Bridget said angrily. Inuyasha glared at her.  
  
"Hey, it was her or Amanda!" he protested.  
  
"And what if it were you in Kisike's place with Amanda making the decision?!" Bridget shot back. "Would she have done the same thing?!"  
  
Inuyasha blinked. Bridget continued, her silent demeanor vanishing. "I don't live in this dimension but even I know that one of the points of evilness is that promises are never kept! What the hell were you thinking, Inuyasha?!"  
  
"They let us take the medicine!" Inuyasha argued.  
  
"Oh, sure! Let's talk about that. I would like to know how much good the medicine would have done Amanda if she were already dead! They were able to run away and you have to admit that that was probably just luck! It's probably luck that they're not attacking us now; they probably haven't found us yet! Like I said: You can't trust evil! You should have known that by now! You should have known that back when we were fighting Shisou for god's sake!" Bridget snapped, her eyes flashing red.  
  
"You trusted the enemy back there too, and Shisou would probably have the Shikon shards and we'd both be dead if our friends didn't come to help us! If you had just paused and thought for one moment, you'd probably have come up with a way to save them both!"  
  
Inuyasha jumped up and grabbed Bridget by the collar. "Listen, you. . ." he started. Bridget cut him off.  
  
"Four of us came to this dimension together. Four of us should have left this dimension together." She hissed. She pulled away and marched over to the other side of the camp. The others blinked at the girl. This was a side of Bridget that they'd never seen.  
  
Nobody went over to her as it began to snow. 'Amanda had better not die. . .' Bridget thought, her eyes turning blue and purple. 'I have only three friends in my world. . .and now they've dwindled down to two.'  
  
"Gabriel's not going to be happy about this." Kouten said.  
  
Raylin closed her eyes. "This isn't good. . .hopefully we won't lose any more people. I really hope that we don't lose Amanda. I still haven't had the chance to apologize about earlier." She muttered.  
  
***  
  
* one hour later, at the clearing *  
  
Kisike sweatdropped as she sat up, a little shakily, her ears slanting backwards as her hair fell over her face. She sighed heavily and jerked her head back, causing her hair to flop backwards and stick to the webbing that covered her from her feet to her shoulders. She grunted and shook her head, and then stopped when she felt a few hairs snap, and she sat perfectly still, staring straight ahead with wide eyes.  
  
She flinched when she realized the spiderhead were arguing about who was going to kill her. . .and eat her. She blinked, and then slowly began to move her fingers around, her nails slowly shredding the webbing. After ten minutes of continuous shredding and continuous arguing by the spiderheads, Kisike stood, swiping the rest of the web stuff from her legs and hair. "Bastards. . ." She grumbled, brushing herself off. The spiderheads turned then, glaring at her.  
  
"She got out!" One of the smaller ones hissed.  
  
"DAMN STRAIGHT I DID!" Kisike yelled, grinning widely as she ran out of the clearing and into the woods. She heard something snap faintly behind her, but she didn't stop to look back. A few minutes later, she realized that she wasn't being followed, and stopped to look back, her eyes searching the trees as her ears flicking back and forth, silently sweeping through the air to pick up any sounds a human's ear would have easily missed.  
  
She shook her head slightly and turned, running straight into something furry. "WhaaaaAAAAaaa!" She yelled, falling backwards. She grimaced and propped herself up on her hands, blinking up at what she'd run into. It was tall. Very tall, and very furry, though the weirdest part was there was a dark grayish blue skull over a hood-like part, near where someone's head would be.  
  
"H. . .Hi?" She asked hesitantly, standing slowly and reaching up to poke the skull's forehead. It didn't move. She huffed and stood back, her hands on her hips as she slowly walked around the furry thing. "Well. . .this is not Feng Shui. . ." She muttered, putting her hands on the back and pushing on it, attempting to knock it over. It moved suddenly, turning sharply so the skull faced Kisike, even as she yelped and fell forward, catching herself on a pair of arms.  
  
She blinked once and looked up, letting go of the arms and falling back to the ground, holding herself up with one hand.  
  
"Kisike.." A voice said softly. Kisike blinked.  
  
"How do you know my name?" She asked. The voice ignored her.  
  
"Kisike. . .where are you going? Back to your. . .'friends'. . .?" It asked. Kisike blinked, then nodded.  
  
"I was planning on it, actually. . ." She said, then stared into the eyeholes of the skull for a moment, before looking down at the ground. " I guess. . ." She muttered, her eyelids drooping slightly as she sighed.  
  
"They abandoned you. . .all of them. . ." He, Kisike having distinguished the voice as male finally, murmured, the tall figure kneeling over Kisike and spreading his arms out, the fur over thing opening to reveal a light purple colored kimono. Kisike blinked and scooted backwards slightly.  
  
"No. . .they're my friends..they've. . .always been my friends.." She said, her hands curling into fists.  
  
"Then why did they abandon you like that back there. . .that wasn't very friendly. . .was it. . .?" He asked, and then shook his head slightly, answering his own question.  
  
". . .N. . .No. . .I guess. . .not. . .but..I have to go back. . .to. . .let them know I'm okay.." She whispered, mostly to herself as she reached up with one hand to wipe at the eyes with her sleeve.  
  
"Come with me. . ." The voice said slowly, it's tone lowering a little.  
  
". . .Who are you. . .?"  
  
"That's not important right now. . ." He said, reaching out with a pale, clawed hand to trace thin fingertips over her bangs. Kisike's eyes narrowed and she caught his hand with hers.  
  
"Naraku. That's it. . .Naraku, isn't it?" She asked. The figure hesitated and the nodded a second later.  
  
"Yes. . .Now. . .don't you want revenge on your. . .'friends'?" He asked, the hood of his over fur falling back so his eyes stared directly into Kisike's, glowing slightly. Kisike's eyes widened and she nodded, letting his hand go.  
  
"Yes. . .tell me how. . .?" She asked, moving up to her knees and fisting her hands in the fabric of Naraku's kimono, looking a little more desperate than she may have been feeling. Naraku smirked.  
  
"Of course. . ." He muttered softly, bringing the pelt back in to conceal both Kisike and himself within the folds of fur. A few seconds later, the pelt fell to the ground, and Naraku and Kisike were gone.  
  
***  
  
Shido appeared in the cavern. "Naraku has agreed to the plan and it has already been set into motion, Master." He said, bowing.  
  
"Excellent. . ." said the hooded figure as he stared into the pool that showed the group.  
  
"Should I execute the next step, sir?" Shido asked.  
  
"Not yet. There may even be no need. . ." said the figure as his eyes flicked over to the faerie-jin that sat a ways from the others. "We shall see how it plays out first. . .when we do, that is when we will make our decision. Give it a few hours, but not if they sleep right after the neko- jin is healed. If they do, then wait until tomorrow night."  
  
Shido bowed. "Yes, master."  
  
***  
  
Kisike blinked as she walked around in the main room of Naraku's fortress. It was very dark..  
  
"It's very dark.." She said, looking up at the ceiling. Naraku sweatdropped and moved quickly to sit on his throne, which was made entirely of human and demon skulls. Kisike blinked, then rushed over to stand in front of him, only about 20 feet away. She tapped her heels together and raised her right arm in the air. "HAIL! LORD ILPALLAZOOOO!" She yelled, grinning widely. Naraku sweatdropped and leaned forward slightly.  
  
"Who is this..Ilpallazo?" He growled, glaring out from underneath the hood of his monkey suit. Kisike blinked, then tapped her finger against her chin.  
  
"I dunno..Oh, that's right." She said, raising her arm in the air again. "HAIL! LORD NARAKU!!" She yelled again, sweatdropping. Naraku's eyebrow twitched as he leaned back again.  
  
"That's better.." He grumbled, then looked around. " Well..what now. . ."  
  
"You're the boss, boss." Kisike said, dropping her arm and shrugging. "And oh, what a boss! What an amazing person you are Lord Naraku!" She said, waving her arms around and doing a weird dance thing. Naraku sighed heavily and stood.  
  
"Kisike, this world is corrupt-" He stopped when Kisike started yelling, not actually forming a word or a sentence, but she started yelling, almost cheering.  
  
"This world is corrupt. . ." He started again, then trailed off when the girl started running around in circles. He sighed heavily and blinked as a rope came down from the ceiling. Kisike stopped and looked back at him, blinking.  
  
"What's the deal with that rope?" She asked, just as it went back up into the ceiling.  
  
"Nevermind that.." He mumbled, pulling out a hand full of Shikon Shards. " Do you have any idea what these are?" He asked.  
  
"Shikon shards! . . .Aren't they..?" Kisike asked, standing still now.  
  
"Exactly..The dog demon you used to run with is trying to collect these as well..he must be found, and stopped." Naraku said, taking three shards into his free hand. He then flicked each of them at Kisike, one to her forehead, another to just below her elbow in her left arm, then other went into the calf of her left leg. Kisike stumbled backwards a little and blinked. A small movie screen popped up on the far wall, a picture of Inuyasha and Bridget popped up as well. "This is your first assignment..find these two..kill Inuyasha, but bring back the girl." He said simply. Kisike blinked and put her hands on her hips.  
  
"You aren't thinking of letting her join Across, are you, Lord Naraku?" She asked. Naraku blinked, then sweatdropped.  
  
"What's Across?" He asked. Then sighed heavily as Kisike said nothing, only stared at him. " Nevermind. . .no. . .now that I know your opinion on the matter.." He said, rather confused still. Kisike shrugged and grabbed a random sword off the wall.  
  
"EXCEL WITH SERVE YOU WELL, LORD ILPALLAZO!" She yelled, marching out of the room before Naraku even had time to ask. Naraku blinked when he heard her start singing.  
  
"OBLITTERATE! EXTERMINATE! LORD ILPA-. . .NARAKU TOLD ME SO-o-O!!" She sang..rather loudly as she walked down the big hill the fortress was set upon. Naraku sighed heavily and sat down, grumbling curses to himself about a certain half breed dog demon.  
  
***  
  
"AND A DOUBLE ORDER OF HOMICIDE! TO GO!! " Kisike finished, wiping off the blade of her sword.  
  
***  
  
"Why did I start talking about how the world is corrupt.." Naraku wondered out loud, suddenly.  
  
***  
  
She huffed and began walking back towards where she remembered the others were, the shack thing. She hefted the sword up and propped the blade up on her shoulder, then blunt side resting on her newly inserted shoulder pad.  
  
***  
  
Bridget looked up as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up to see Inuyasha. She glared at him. "What do you want?" she demanded.  
  
"We need to talk." Inuyasha said. "Follow me." With that, he began walking off.  
  
Bridget stood up and paused, looking back at the group. Raylin was helping Miroku and the brats make the medicine for Amanda. Nobody seemed to notice. She then looked back at Inuyasha and nodded, following him. After about five minutes of walking, they stopped. "So what do you want to speak to me about?" she asked.  
  
"Bridget, get out of here." Inuyasha said.  
  
Bridget blinked. "Say what. . .?" she asked.  
"Leave the group. You're causing too much tension and commotion in the group, and to tell you the truth, everyone is just about sick of it."  
  
"But how could that be possible?! I barely even talk!" Bridget demanded. "Is this because of earlier?!"  
  
"Partially, yes. Look, you're just too much trouble. You're too weak to be in this group."  
  
"Too weak?! What the hell?!" Bridget snapped.  
  
"Yeah. I'm not putting up you anymore. You're just a disadvantage in case we get attacked. Now, get out of here. If you come back to the group, I'll kill you." Inuyasha said.  
  
Bridget reached for her sword. She paused as her hand dropped back to her side. "Forget it." She said softly. "You're probably right. Besides, I can't kill you. Amanda likes you too much." With that, she walked off into the woods.  
  
Inuyasha smirked and looked back over at the camp to see the kitsune brat watching. Shippou's eyes were wide. "W-wait a second. . ." he said.  
  
Inuyasha marched over to him and covered his mouth. "You speak of this to anybody and I'll make sure you'll never speak again, got that?" he said.  
  
Shippou nodded, frightened, and scampered back to the camp. Inuyasha walked behind a tree. His hair suddenly shortened and his eyes turned brown. He became slightly taller and older, looking around his mid- twenties. He changed completely, yet still looked human, but it wasn't Inuyasha.  
  
It was Shido.  
  
***  
  
After about three hours of wandering. . .  
  
"Where. . .WHERE'D THEY GO NOW?!" Kisike yelled up into the treetops. She swung the sword around aimlessly, cutting a few branches off the trees. One happened to land on her head. "Oooow!" She whined, rubbing the bump on her head. "I mean I'm not bitter. . .but GAWDDAMNED TREES!!!" She hollered, waving her sword around even more. She stopped and blinked, hearing several yells sounding about half a mile away.  
  
***  
  
Inuyasha hmphed and knelt beside Amanda, gathering her up in his arms. He went over to a near by tree and sat against it, he gently laid his chin on the top of her head and listened to her strained breathing.  
  
He could hear Miroku instructing Shippou and Kouten on how to mix the right ingredients together. He sighed and closed his eyes. Something was wrong. . .he strained his ears to their limits. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes went wide. Amanda wasn't breathing anymore. "Guys! We have a problem. . ." he shouted. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Amanda just stopped breathing." He said trembling. Raylin ran over to them.  
  
"You have to be joking. . ." she said leaning over Amanda, placing her ear over Amanda's mouth. No air rushed past Amanda's lips. "Oh shit." Raylin mumbled. "Someone will have to do R+R." Inuyasha laid Amanda flat on the ground. Miroku looked up from his work.  
  
"What's that?" He asked. Raylin sighed.  
  
"It stands for respiratory resuscitation. In other words. . .if we don't get Amanda breathing again, we will lose her!" Raylin said starting to pull out her hair. Miroku left some final instructions to Kouten and Shippou and went over to Raylin.  
  
"I will be glad to assist you in reviving Lady Amanda" He said with his little hand prayer thingy. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.  
  
"I know where this thing is going." Inuyasha sneered. Raylin hit him over the head.  
  
"We need to get Amanda help or she won't last through the next three minutes." Raylin shouted. Inuyasha straightened up and looked at Raylin.  
  
"What do we need to do?" he said sternly. Raylin held her head.  
  
"I'm trying to think. . .Oh yes, now I remember. Okay what you need to do is tilt back Amanda's head to open up her airway. Then you pinch her nose and deliver two slow breaths." She instructed. Inuyasha blushed.  
  
"There is no way that I'm going to kiss her." He said. Raylin hit him over the head again.  
  
"This is not kissing her!" She yelled. 'Or at least how Amanda planned it.' She thought. Then she said, "Besides. . .if you don't then she is going to DIE!" Inuyasha hmphed. He did what Raylin instructed but with a deep blush, after several times of repeating the steps, Amanda started breathing again but very shallow.  
  
"Is that damn medicine done yet?!" Inuyasha demanded at the little brats. He still had a little blush left in his cheeks. Shippou handed him a small bowl with a bluish liquid, glaring at Inuyasha. "Thanks a lot brat." He said as he took the medicine away from him and obviously not noticing the glare. Shippou went back to where Kouten was sitting.  
  
"Don't worry Shippou. . .he's only upset about kissing Amanda and she's not awake to know about it." Kouten said patting him on the shoulder. "Shippou-Chan." She shouted and latched herself to Shippou's middle. Shippou just sighed.  
  
'Please, please, please Amanda. Get better.' Inuyasha thought as he poured the liquid into Amanda's mouth. "Swallow this, Amanda." He whispered. He could barely see her gulp down the medicine. Almost instantly he could see her color improve and her eyes flutter open as she smiled faintly.  
  
"Hi." She whispered. Inuyasha frowned and stood up.  
  
"Don't you dare pull a crazy stunt like that again, baka. You could have died." He snapped. He walked over to the other side of camp.  
  
'How do you think I feel every time you nearly die in my arms?' Amanda thought. Raylin helped her sit up. There was a sound of breaking trees toward their left. "What was that?" Amanda asked to herself and glanced in that direction. She could barely see birds taking to the sky.  
  
Inuyasha suddenly ran over to Amanda and grabbed her, then quickly planted his feet in the ground and jumped several feet away. A giant spiderhead's foot landed right where she had been laying. "Damn. . ." she heard him whisper. When he landed Miroku threw him the Tetsusaiga that he recovered from the remains of the shack. Inuyasha grabbed the sword and held it at the on coming spiderheads foot that was aimed at him. When the foot was two feet away a bright light came from the sword and forced the thing back. "At least the Tetsusaiga is good for something." He said as he gripped the sword tightly in his hand.  
  
"Inuyasha." Amanda whispered. Inuyasha dodged yet another foot and glanced down at her to see Amanda's face, only to see it twisted in pain as blood dripped down her arm. "We must have reopened the gashes when we dodged that spiderhead." She whispered. Inuyasha bared his teeth at the Master Spiderhead.  
  
"I will make sure you truly die, you bakayaru." He sneered at it. He then handed Amanda over to Miroku. "You try anything monk and you will die a very painful death." Inuyasha said as he turned toward the Master Spiderhead. It was smiling evilly.  
  
"I guess that my poison did not finish her off, then that will make killing her even more enjoyable.because I will do it in front of your very eyes." He laughed. His head shot forward and webs spewed out. Inuyasha dodged the sticky strands and the web struck the ground.  
  
"Missed." Inuyasha taunted. The Master Spiderhead fired another shot of web. The web struck Inuyasha's hand. The spiderhead smiled as it rammed Inuyasha into a tree. Inuyasha hit the ground hard and he spied two Shikon shards in the spiderhead's forehead.  
  
"Damn it!" Amanda said as she strained to get away from Miroku. "Inuyasha needs my help." She demanded. She tried to slap Miroku but he blocked her hand with his staff. Amanda growled in her throat and kicked Miroku in the balls. His eyes went wide and he slumped to the ground in a lump as Amanda stumbled over to Inuyasha. She helped him stand up. Inuyasha just looked at her sternly.  
  
"You should just stay out of this and go lay back down." He mumbled. Amanda frowned.  
  
"Well. . .too late." Amanda said smiling. A web wrapped itself around her wrist and pulled her toward the Master Spiderhead. Inuyasha grabbed her hand in attempt to pull her back.  
  
"Amanda!" Inuyasha shouted as her fingers slipped through his grasp. Amanda yelped as she fell forward, being dragged by her wrist, which was starting to ache just slightly. Inuyasha growled and leapt forward, landing on his face as Amanda was dragged just out of his reach again. Amanda grimaced as she was pulled up face to face with the Master Spiderhead.  
  
No one noticed a pair of amber eyes, glowing out from under blonde bangs, darkened by the shadows of a large pine tree.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Amanda cried, squirming in the tight grasp of the spiderhead.  
  
"Amanda!" Inuyasha yelled, lunging towards the Master spiderhead. A lesser spiderhead knocked him away, laughing loudly as Inuyasha flew into a tree. Miroku grimaced as he stood up, with Raylin's help.  
  
"Are you okay, Miroku?" Raylin asked, looking at him worriedly. Miroku nodded, closing his eyes.  
  
"Yes. . .I'm fine, Lady Raylin." He said, grinning as he patted her on the butt. Raylin's eyes went wide and she sighed heavily, and then smiled sheepishly at him. The Master Spiderhead moved forward, his mouth opening to reveal large fangs and dripping with poisonous saliva. Amanda screamed and thrashed even more violently, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes tightly. She could feel the spiderhead's rancid breath wash over her neck. Inuyasha yelled curses and frantically tried to get away from the spiderhead holding him to the tree. Miroku and Raylin's mouths hung open slightly as they stared.  
  
Amanda let loose another scream, going rigid, just as everything went black.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on*  
  
Bridget: *is watching Kouga defeat Inuyasha again on the Playstation* Um. . .guys? How are we going to get him to stop playing that game? He's been playing it for eight straight hours. . .and the only opponents he's fought against is Naraku, Kagura, and Inuyasha.  
  
Raylin: We could duct tape him to the bottom of the diving board in the back yard.  
  
Bridget: No. . .if he gets loose. . .I don't even want to think about what'd he'd do as revenge. . .  
  
Amanda: You're forgetting: It's DUCT tape. He's not going to get loose.  
  
*Someone clears their throat behind them*  
  
Amanda, Bridget, and Raylin: *turns around to see Kouga*  
  
Amanda: Eheh. . .Hi, Kouga. . .  
  
Kouga: You girls wouldn't happen to be planning my demise, would you?  
  
Bridget: Well, considering that you're standing right here, don't be silly. . .  
  
Kouga: Okay.  
  
Raylin: Okay, well, we've got to go. If you've got any ideas of how to get Kouga off the Playstation that doesn't involve him killing us all, please let us know. Please review at the sound of the beep.  
  
*beep sounds* 


	24. Acutually, that's a pinecone

Author's Note-New chapter! We own nothing. . .yet. We haven't gotten any Shikon shards lately. . .but we will. . .we're going back to the Feudal Era when Kisike comes back from vacation. *nods*  
  
Everyone blinked and jerked back into reality at a loud, yet familiar, maniacal laughter.  
  
"You actually thought I'd let someone else kill you??" The laughter continued.  
  
"Kisike??" Shippou asked hesitantly, only seeing slanted glowing eyes coming from the shadows.  
  
"But. . .she's dead!" Inuyasha said, amazed. He then gasped as the spiderhead that had had him pinned slumped to the ground, dead.  
  
"You'd like that wouldn't you." A low voice said, suddenly in front of him. Inuyasha jerked backwards and knocked his head back into the tree in the process. He looked up with wide eyes to see Kisike standing over him. Her eyes were slanted, and glowing a pale amber color. She snorted and straightened, looking down at him. She then smirked and tossed her head back, glaring at the others now. "Miss me??" She asked, just as the Master spiderhead toppled to the ground behind her. Amanda hit the ground, her eyes opening slightly as she began to wake up.  
  
"Kisike, you're all right!" Raylin exclaimed. "Thank goodne-"  
  
Kisike turned slanted amber eyes at her. "You were saying?" she asked.  
  
"Hang on, Lady Raylin. That is not Lady Kisike." Miroku said. Raylin turned to him.  
  
"Say what?!" she demanded.  
  
"Oh, I'm Kisike. . .also known as Excel. . .but I'm still the same Kisike that you all left to die to the spiderheads." She said.  
  
Amanda blinked. "Wha. . .what?" she asked, looking around at all the guilty and shocked faces. "Is there something you guys aren't telling me?"  
  
"Just that these traitors saw the chance to get rid of me and they took it. Nothing too serious." Kisike said cheerfully evil. She narrowed her eyes. "Except for the fact that the dead come back for revenge. . .and my revenge will be taking your boyfriend's life."  
  
Amanda's eyes widened. Inuyasha glared at Kisike. "Not happenin. . .you're not Kisike. She's dead."  
  
"Oh, if only things were that simple!" Kisike said, looking and sounding like she was about to go into a rant. "Yeah, I would die, Amanda would live, she would give you grief, and then my three 'friends' would have to choose between this dimension and home, and have a hard time choosing. Yes, that would work out perfectly! Except it didn't, so now everything is just about as complicated as a pre-algebra quiz! Maybe even more!"  
  
Raylin couldn't resist commenting. "Actually. . .pre-algebra quizzes aren't that hard. . ." she said. She looked over at Inuyasha. "Yep. It's Kisike. A very psycho Kisike. . .but still Kisike."  
  
Kisike glared at Raylin. "Shut up." She ordered. She turned back to Inuyasha. "Actually. . .there is a way that you can spare the lives of the brats, Miroku, and maybe even Amanda." She said. "Give up your own. And give up the Shikon shards in your possession. That is the only way, unless you want to try to kill me with your own hands, but then, the effort would be totally and utterly futile, so I suggest that you give up without a fight."  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha demanded. He also noticed the fact that Bridget and Raylin were not on the 'spared lives' list. "Look, I'll fight you, but leave Raylin and Bridget outta this! I was the one that made the decision, not them!"  
  
"But they didn't even bother much to stop you. . .or to help me. . ." Kisike said. She glanced over at the spot that Bridget had been sitting. "Besides. . .I'm surprised that you're defending someone that would abandon the group to save their own skin." She said, smirking.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?!"  
  
"I'm talking about Bridget."  
  
"What?! She wouldn't leave!" Inuyasha said.  
  
"That's right! Why would she?!" Amanda demanded.  
  
Inuyasha remembered the tension that had went on between them. Had she really been angry enough to leave the group? He hadn't really noticed right then, but now that he thought about it. . .  
  
He let that thought trail off as he looked over to where Bridget had been sitting. She had been sitting out of sight behind a tree, but surely she would have come out from behind it when the spiderheads attacked. . .? He glanced at Shippou. "Hey, Shippou. See if Bridget's still there."  
  
"But. . .wouldn't she have come out when the spiderheads attacked and when Amanda stopped breathing and all. . .?" Kouten asked as Shippou stood up.  
  
"She could have fallen asleep or something. Like I said, Shippou, just check."  
  
Shippou muttered something under his breath, shaking his head as he stood up and walked over to the spot where Bridget had been sitting. "No sign of her. Not even footprints." He said.  
  
Inuyasha looked down at the ground. "This is all my fault. . ." he whispered.  
  
Kisike's smirk grew wider. "See? She's gone now."  
  
"Why do you want the Shikon shards?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Oh, changing the subject, are we?" Kisike asked. "I suppose I shall tell you. You see, my boss wants them for himself."  
  
"Your. . .boss. . .?"  
  
"Yes!" Kisike said, raising her arm in a salute like she had done back at Naraku's castle. "Hail, Lord Ilpallazo!"  
  
"Lord Ilpallazo?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
A white baboon suddenly appeared behind Kisike. "You mean Lord Naraku." It said.  
  
Kisike turned to it and waved a hand nonchalantly. "Details, details. Lord Ilpallazo, Lord Naraku, same guy. Well. . .Except Lord Naraku needs to get started on making Across. . .and dye his hair. . .and get spectacles. . .and. . .yeah. . ." she said, sweatdropping. She grinned. "Oh well! I'm going on his mission, so he best be happy!" she said cheerfully.  
  
"Naraku!" Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippou gasped. Inuyasha glared at the white baboon.  
  
"Damn you, Naraku! Taking one of our friends and turning her against us?!" he yelled.  
  
"Inuyasha, that's probably just a puppet!" Miroku said.  
  
"Yeah. . .you're right. . ." Inuyasha said.  
  
Kisike sweatdropped. "Actually. . .that's a pinecone."  
  
". . .That is not a pinecone." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Pinecones aren't used in demon puppetry." Miroku said.  
  
"Until now. . . Lord Il-I mean, Naraku-ran out of dolls." Kisike said.  
  
". . .He what?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"He ran out of dolls. . ." Kisike repeated, shrugging and looking over at the Naraku. . .er. . .pinecone. She then pointed her sword at Inuyasha. "Now, you shall die! Or at least fight me, find out that I'm much more powerful than you, and then die!"  
  
Inuyasha looked at the tip of the sword that was an inch from his face. "Look, I don't want to fight you, but if I have to then at least wait until sunrise when I actually stand a chance!" Kisike began to laugh again.  
  
"Are you insane? That would only take up more of my time. I'm killing you now, and that's that!" Suddenly, Kisike's left hand shot out to the side, and the bottle of Shikon shards slipped out of Inuyasha's shirt. Attached was a thin, golden strand. Kisike smirked, jerking the bottle up into her hand, then backed up a few feet, still holding out the sword to Inuyasha, and then darted back into the woods, disappearing from sight almost instantly.  
  
Inuyasha blinked, standing quickly and running after her. "GET BACK HERE!!" He yelled, running as fast as he could. . .which wasn't very fast in his human form, not compared to a cat demon. Kisike's laughter rang throughout the trees around him.  
  
Back at the camp, Miroku, Raylin, Shippou, Kouten, and Amanda yelled after Inuyasha, but no one moved. They could see hundreds of pairs of red glowing eyes staring at them from behind the trees.  
  
"I hope he'll be okay.." Amanda murmured as Miroku, Raylin, Shippou and Kouten circles around her, getting ready to fend off whatever was closing in from all sides.  
  
***  
  
As Inuyasha ran blindly after Kisike, he began to realize that he'd forgotten Tetsusaiga back at the camp. He sighed heavily, turning and starting back. He looked over his shoulder to see if Kisike was still in sight. Kisike had froze, about twenty feet ahead of him and blinking.  
  
Inuyasha stopped for a moment. 'No. . .I can't go. . .if I do, I'll lose her. Besides, Amanda won't let me come back. . .' he thought. He frowned. 'I'll just have to do without the Tetsusaiga.' He looked up at the sky. 'Sunrise should be in an hour. . .hopefully I can keep from dying until then.'  
  
"Hey!" Kisike yelled. Inuyasha looked back down at her. "You are coming, right? Or are you just chickening out? Too scared now?" Kisike continued.  
  
Inuyasha looked down at her. "I'm coming." He said.  
  
". . .Hm. . ." was all that Kisike said as she paused for a few more moments, then began running again. She began tree hopping-jumping from branch to branch, stopping and looking back with a smirk every now and then to see if Inuyasha was still following.  
  
'She's mocking me. . .she knows very well that she can defeat me when I'm like this. The only way I can think of beating her in this state is somehow outsmarting her, and even I know that I can't do strategy. . .' Inuyasha thought.  
  
Kisike suddenly stopped on a high branch. Inuyasha thought she was going to turn around to see if he was still there but was wrong. Kisike stared down at the field as a chilly breeze brushed past her. She then jumped down into the field and stuck her sword into the ground where it stayed standing. ". . .You're slow." She commented.  
  
Inuyasha glared. "I wouldn't be if I weren't in my human form." He said.  
  
Kisike's smirk didn't falter as she closed her eyes. "You whine too much." She said.  
  
Inuyasha growled. "Tell me one thing." He said. "Did you really die?"  
  
"No. . ." Kisike said, opening her eyes and absent-mindedly twirling a single tendril of hair around her fingers. "No, I didn't. I woke up and ran. . .I was going to run back to you and the others, but then Naraku found me. I saw the truth then: You and the others betrayed me; you left me to die. You could have found another way. . .you could have. . ." she started, then stopped. "There was probably a way you could save both me and Amanda. But. . .I suppose now we'll never know." She looked up at him. "Will we?" She demanded. She suddenly ran at him, her claws ready to slice him in half.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes widened and barely managed to jump out of the way as Kisike's claws breezed past his face. He whirled around as Kisike came to a stop behind him.  
  
"I suppose you're faster than I thought. . .at least, you are when it's to save your own life." Kisike said observantly. "But, that's the way all humans are, I guess. . ." she sighed.  
  
Inuyasha glared at her. "You just got power from Naraku. Don't think this makes you any better or any different. You're still half human here and you're still human in your own dimension. It's foolish to forget that!" He said as he ran towards her with a punch.  
  
Kisike smirked and easily caught his punch. Inuyasha's eyes widened as she tightened her grip on his fist. He felt a sharp pain as he began to hear a small but noticeable crack in his fist. "Perhaps. But so what? As long as I have the power to defeat you then I know that I'm at least more superior!" Kisike replied.  
  
Inuyasha grit his teeth. "One problem. . ." he growled.  
  
Kisike blinked. "Hm?"  
  
"I have TWO fists." Inuyasha exclaimed, swinging a left punch to the side of her head.  
  
"Ahh!" Kisike cried, knocking Inuyasha's fist to the side.  
  
Inuyasha scoured his mind for any kind of idea to get out of this mess. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'I put everything I had into that punch. . .'  
  
"Hey. . .you almost got me that time. . ." Kisike said in an almost- whining voice.  
  
". . .That's the whole point. . ." Inuyasha said, -.-'ing.  
  
"Well that's not very nice. . ." Kisike said. Inuyasha looked around.  
  
'I need to knock her unconscious somehow. . .I'm not going to kill her. . .but how. . .?' he wondered. His eyes rested on the sword still sticking out of the ground. 'Maybe if I hit her with the blunt side. . .but is it too risky?'  
  
"You know, I was really hoping you'd be a lot stronger than this. . .but oh well. . ." Kisike said. She kicked Inuyasha in the stomach and took a step back. Inuyasha grimaced as he clutched his stomach. "Well, I suppose you are a little bit tougher. . .but that's only because you're so stubborn." Kisike continued.  
  
'I really don't think I have a choice. . .' he thought. 'Because it's not like I can seem to touch her with fists or feet. . .' He took off into a run.  
  
"Running away? But the torture's just begun!" Kisike said.  
  
"Not away." Inuyasha said. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and yanked it out of the ground. "Just getting some defense!"  
  
Kisike stared at him, blinking, then closed her eyes once again and smirked. "Fine, but it won't do you any good."  
  
"We'll see about that!" Inuyasha yelled, running towards her and flipping the blade over to the blunt side. Kisike merely held out her hand as her energy sword appeared. 'Crap! I forgot about her energy sword. . .' Inuyasha thought, too close to back away now.  
  
Kisike opened her eyes and sliced the sword to pieces. Bad move.  
  
Considering that the sword had come from Naraku's castle, it was some kind of evil sword thingy. And that it was. The sword suddenly exploded, throwing Kisike and Inuyasha across the field. Kisike hit the ground and rolled. Inuyasha. . .hit the ground. Period.  
  
***  
  
Amanda looked around. "You guys. . .someone has to go find Inuyasha and Kisike." She said. She glared. "And if none of you guys don't, it's gonna be me."  
  
"Please, Lady Amanda, it's not that simple at the moment. . ." Miroku said, looking around at all the glowing eyes surrounding them, staff at the ready.  
  
Amanda stood up weakly. "I don't care. . ." she said.  
  
"Amanda, please sit back down. You're too weak to stand up at the moment." Shippou said.  
  
"No." Amanda said stubbornly. "Somebody go. . .stop Kisike from killing Inuyasha. She's got an unfair advantage, and Inuyasha and I are going to be human for at least another hour." She said.  
  
"True. . ." Raylin agreed, nodding.  
  
Kouten sighed. "Where's Gabriel when you need him. . .?" she said. "He was able to stop Kisike from being all evil and stuff last time it happened. . ."  
  
"Well, he's not here right now, so we're going to have to do something about it." Raylin said.  
  
"Still. . ." Kouten sighed.  
  
Raylin nodded. "Any ideas. . .?"  
  
Author's note- *answering machine comes on*  
  
Bridget: He's still not off the Playstation.  
  
Raylin: I know that. And we didn't get any ideas of how to get him off in the reviews. I still say we go with my idea.  
  
Amanda: . . .Yeah. . .you do that. . . In the meantime, we'll try to think of SAFE ways to get him off. . .  
  
Raylin: . . .It's better than nothing.  
  
Amanda: Duct taping him to the diving board?  
  
Raylin: We duct taped him to a tree!  
  
Amanda: . . .Good point. . .well, if we get no more ideas from the reviews to this chapter, we'll go with your idea.  
  
Raylin: Good.  
  
Bridget: Anyways, review at the sound of the beep! Bye!  
  
*beep sounds* 


	25. Return of The Missing Character

Author's Note-You're gonna kill us, aren't you? We haven't been updating, I know, but the updater (me) hasn't had much time to write or update due to starting highschool. And the others. . .I think they've just hit a writers block. . .we all have. . . But never fear! We have not stopped writing. We intend to finish this fanfic, even if it takes us all somehow ending up in one place and suddenly ending the fic.or someone named Cordelia waking up and thinking that the spaghetti she had before going to bed must have went bad. (J/N: J/k.) But.just to let you guys know.we haven't had much time to gather Shikon shards either.so we own nothing.including Family Guy. Oh, and another thing. Some of you have been wondering where a certain character is, and in this chapter, she makes her appearance. So, read and review, and we'll get to writing (and hopefully updating more often.)  
  
Kisike stood up, seeing some of the snow melted in the field and Inuyasha lay on the ground, not moving. She walked over to him. "Geez. If one explosion was enough to kill you then I may have done that a long time ago. . ." she said.  
  
'I can't give up. . .' Inuyasha thought, barely managing to maintain consciousness. He twitched slightly.  
  
"Dammit. You're still alive?" Kisike sighed. She suddenly heard something coming towards her. She ducked the boomerang that breezed over her head, then watched as it came back and dodged it then, too. She turned and watched a young woman with long black hair in a ponytail wearing black and pink armor catch it. She blinked. "Hey. . .nice outfit. . ." she said. "It's got pink. . ."  
  
The woman ignored her. "Are you all right?" she called over to Inuyasha.  
  
'That voice. . .I recognize it. . .' Inuyasha thought, opening his eyes slightly.  
  
"Whoever you are, I suggest you stay out of this fight." Kisike said, cracking her knuckles. "Unless you have a death wish."  
  
"I can't do that. You're a cat demon attacking a defenseless human." The woman said.  
  
"He had a sword!" Kisike protested. "Well. . .s'not like he could do anything with it. . .but still! He nearly got me killed and I need to finish the mission given to me by Lord Ilpallazo!"  
  
"Who is this Lord Ilpallazo you work for? Another demon?"  
  
"Darn it. . .Got the name wrong again. . ." Kisike muttered. She then looked back at the woman and formed her ki sword in her hand, waving it around insanely just for the heck of it. "Sorry about that. . .I said Lord Ilpallazo. I meant Lord NARAKU."  
  
"Naraku!" The woman exclaimed. 'Is she waving her sword around like that as a threat? Or is she just an idiot?' she wondered.  
  
"No, I'm not Naraku. . .I'm Kisike! Also known as Excel. . .Now. . ." Kisike grinned and pointed her sword at the woman. "Whoooo arrre yooou?"  
  
Inuyasha's eyes widened as his head began to clear. 'I remember! That's-'  
  
"Sango: Demon slayer." The woman said.  
  
"Sango!" Inuyasha yelled, sitting up slightly.  
  
Sango blinked. "Who. . .Do I know you?" she asked.  
  
"Sango, it's me! Inuyasha! I'm in human form until the sun rises, but whatever you do, don't kill that girl!" Inuyasha called over to her.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Sango exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah." Inuyasha said. He began to stand up, but looking very weak. "On second thought. . .just stay out of this battle. Period." He said.  
  
"But Inuyasha, she's trying to kill you AND she's one of Naraku's henchmen." Sango protested.  
  
"HenchWOMAN." Kisike interrupted.  
  
"Fine. Henchwoman. Why-"  
  
"She's one of my friends being controlled by Naraku." Inuyasha said.  
  
Kisike glared at him. "I am not one of your friends. Friends don't leave other friends to die!" she yelled.  
  
"I. . .I. . ." Inuyasha couldn't come up with a comeback or argument for that one immediately. He blinked, then said, "Oh yeah? Well you. . .uh. . .stole our Shikon shards!"  
  
Kisike -.-'d. "That was after you left me to die, dummy. Get your timeline straight."  
  
"Hey! Who are you calling a dummy?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Well. . .I guess I was wrong. . ." Kisike said. Inuyasha smirked at this, until Kisike continued. "What I should have said was 'weak dummy'. Sorry. . ." she said.  
  
Inuyasha growled. Sango sweatdropped. 'She's not even taking this fight seriously. . .' she thought.  
  
Kisike looked over at her and glared. "Why are you staring at me?! Stare at Christopher! You'd make a great couple! I mean. . .you just stand there. . .and Christopher just stands there. . .of course, hopefully he would, since he's a wall. . .but then, something could happen like the fire that happened to Inuyasha's house and Christopher could fall down. . ." she said, her voice trailing off. She suddenly glared. "Oh my god! Why did I just dedicate an entire paragraph to Christopher and a person I don't know?!" She began to go into a rant as Sango's mouth seemed to hang slightly open in disbelief and blink, not being able to decide if this girl was an idiot or just slightly (J/N: Yeah right) insane.  
  
Kisike looked over at her expression, then began to laugh insanely. "Your humany little mind is no match for my psychic powers! Fear me. . .Fear me!" She then began to go into Excel mode and run around the field, swinging her sword around randomly.  
  
"What. . .on earth. . ." Sango started, continuing to blink. She edged over to Inuyasha. "Your friend, you say. . .?" she asked him in a low voice when she was right next to him.  
  
Inuyasha sweatdropped, his eyes dots. "Sadly. . .yes. . ." he admitted, sighing and hanging his head slightly.  
  
"I think there's something wrong with her head. . ." Sango said.  
  
Kisike came to a stop right in front of them. "Or maybe there's something wrong with YOUR head. It's too humany. I can tell. Damn you!" She said, saying the last part in a Stewie-like voice (J/N: If you've ever seen Family Guy, you'll know what I mean. . .).  
  
Inuyasha was looking up at the sky. Kisike blinked and looked up at the dim sky also. "Oooh. . .whatcha lookin at?" she asked.  
  
Inuyasha smirked. Kisike looked down at him, then up at the sky again, then back and forth until she finally yelled, "The aliens are comiiing!"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, but it's not that. . ." Inuyasha said. Kisike looked back up at the sky and saw a lining of gold across the mountaintops.  
  
". . .Damn you!" She said again in a Stewie-like voice. She then smirked. "I suppose I've taunted you enough for one lifetime. . .I'll have to hurry up and kill you now, even if I still have the power to defeat you once you're half demon. . .but I have another mission to complete once this is over with." She said, turning back to him. She ran at him, sword ready to cut off his head. "Prepare to be the headless dancing chicken!" she yelled.  
  
Time suddenly seemed to slow for a flickering moment as Inuyasha's black hair shone silver and his human ears disappeared only to reappear as dog ears. His violet eyes changed to amber and his fingernails grew back to being claws. Inuyasha only registered this for a second though, for he dodged the sword and hit her over the head. . .really hard.  
  
Kisike skidded to a stop, rubbing the bump on her head. "Ow. . .that hurt. . ." she whined. Inuyasha blinked in disbelief.  
  
"What does it take to knock out this girl. . .?" he muttered.  
  
Kisike sighed. "Well. . .looks like it's two against one. . .not that that really matters. . ." Kisike said, glancing over at Sango, then looking back over at Inuyasha. "But I can always kill you another time. I'm sure Lord Naraku won't care that much if I complete two out of three missions." She said. She hopped into a tree. "I would go help out those friends of yours if I were you. Now, Adios! And by the way," she called back, beginning to tree-hop away, "If you see Bridget again, don't be too happy about it because she'll probably try to kill you! Lord Naraku's orders!" She disappeared off into the woods, and Inuyasha could almost swear her heard her mutter as she left, "Adios? Since when did I start speaking Spanish. . .?"  
  
It took a minute for what Kisike had said to click in Inuyasha's brain. "Dammit!" he suddenly exclaimed. "She's going to turn Bridget over to Naraku's side! I've got to go after her!" he said. He took a step forward, then paused and looked back to the other side of the field-the way back to the camp. "But. . .Amanda and the others need help. . ." he said. He seemed torn on which way to go.  
  
"Inuyasha," Sango said. Inuyasha looked at her. "Go follow Kisike. You're faster than I am, so you'll be able to catch up with her. I'll go your friends."  
  
"Yeah, but. . .You don't know where the camp is. Besides, I think a bunch of spiderheads are attacking there, not to mention one of Naraku's puppets." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Oh, I'll be fine." Sango said. "A bunch of spiderheads will be nothing. And Kirara's already scouting out the area." Sango said. She looked up and waved. "Kirara!" she called. The fiery cat demon flew down and landed. Sango hopped on her back. "Kirara, you saw a camp with a bunch of humans, right?" she asked.  
  
"Actually. . .most of them are demons." Inuyasha said. He ticked them off on his fingers. "There's Kouten, a rain demon; Amanda, half human, half cat demon; and then there's Raylin, who's an elf; and of course Miroku and Shippou."  
  
Sango smiled. "I'm glad Miroku and Shippou are alright. . ." she said. "But. . .you forgot Kagome. . ." she said.  
  
Inuyasha looked away. "I didn't forget her. She's gone."  
  
Sango didn't know which he meant- back to the future or dead. . .but both of those options seemed bad enough to put such a sad and depressed look on his face. All she could do right then was nod. "By the way. . ." she said, "It's good to see you again."  
  
Inuyasha still couldn't seem to look at her but nodded. "You too. Welcome back to the group, Sango." He said. He took off into the forest and Kirara and Sango flew off to help for the motley group in the forest.  
  
***  
  
". . .Um. . ." Amanda said, looking around. "So. . .anyone want to take any guesses at what the red eyes belong to?" she asked.  
  
"Pink eye. Lots of people with pink eye." Raylin joked.  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. "Hopefully not." She said. Raylin nodded.  
  
"Yeah. . .pink eye is contagious, after all. . ." she said.  
  
"But these eyes look more like a glowing bright red color." Shippou pointed out.  
  
"Pink eye is a type of eye disease. It only lasts for a few days. . .maybe a week if you're unlucky. . .but it makes your eye all red or pink or whatever." Raylin said, shrugging.  
  
"Ah."  
  
Amanda turned to Miroku. "Hey, can't you just use that little suck- things-into-your-hand thingy?" she asked.  
  
". . .It's called my air void. And I don't think so. I can tell you already that a good fraction of those eyes belong to the poisonous insects Naraku has that infects my air void and nearly kills me. Lady Kagome isn't around so I don't have the antidote from her time for the poison." Miroku said.  
  
". . .Dammit. Well, this ain't good. . ." Raylin said. Then she said, "Um, guys. . ."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"That. . .baboon. . .monkey. . .dude. . .keeps staring over here at us. . .and it's beginning to get a just slightly freaky and annoying. . ." she said.  
  
Everyone sweatdropped. ". . .Ya got a point. . ." Raylin admitted, looking back at the Naraku pinecone, who hadn't said a word since Kisike and Inuyasha left but just kept staring at them. ". . .He's getting on my nerves. . ."  
  
"Maybe that's why he isn't saying anything. . .?" Miroku suggested.  
  
Kouten clung to Shippou tightly. "Shippou-chan. . .that thing is getting kinda spooky. . ." Shippou sweatdropped and sighed, but he had to agree with everybody as he nodded.  
  
"Maybe someone should kill it first. . .I mean, it is just a pinecone, right?" Amanda asked.  
  
Raylin nodded, frowning. "You're right. Why the hell are we all freaking out over a pinecone?!" She looked back at the Naraku pinecone. It didn't blink back. . .or move. . .or do anything. Raylin gulped. "Um. . .that's why. . ." She then shrugged, picked up a stone, and tossed it at the Naraku pinecone.  
  
The stone hit the Naraku pinecone in the head. The others sweatdropped as the stone bounced off. "What does that do. . .?" Amanda asked.  
  
Kouten squeaked as she looked up to see the poisonous insects-hell wasps-and poisonous arachnids-spiderheads-advance towards them. "That's what. . ." she said in a tiny voice.  
  
Raylin quickly glanced at her bow and arrows on the ground about five feet away. "I'm going to get my bow and arrow. . ." she whispered to them.  
  
"Don't, Lady Raylin! It's too risky." Miroku said. "Besides, look." He pointed at the spiderheads, which didn't even seem to notice them, but instead, the hell wasps. They shot their webs at the wasps and began wrapping them in cocoons. Everybody-even the Naraku pinecone-sweatdropped.  
  
"Um. . .I don't think that worked out the way Naraku intended it to. . ." Miroku said.  
  
"Yeah. But hey, who wants humans when you can have a tasty bug?" Raylin said, shrugging.  
  
"Uh. . .yeah. . ." Miroku looked up at the sky. "It'll be sunrise soon. . ." he said.  
  
"Good. . ." Amanda said. She and the others looked at the Naraku pinecone.  
  
"Time to kill him." Raylin said, grabbing her bow and an arrow.  
  
"You cannot hit me. Not to mention that a mere arrow is not going to subdue me." The Naraku pinecone said, tentacles sprouting out the bottom of the baboon skin.  
  
Miroku glanced over at Raylin. "You have to hit him in the heart, Lady Raylin." He said.  
  
Raylin nodded as she pulled the bowstring taunt. "Can do!" She said. Then she muttered under her breath, "Heart? What heart. . .?" She let the arrow fly. It would have hit the Naraku pinecone, too. . .if it hadn't flown over his head.  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. "What happened to 'can do'?" she asked.  
  
"Hey, I don't see you helping!"  
  
"That's because I can't!"  
  
"Well then, shut up!"  
  
"Okay!"  
  
"Kouten, look out!" Shippou said, pulling Kouten out of the way of an aimed tentacle. Kouten blinked at him, then began squeezing him to death. . .I mean, hugging him.  
  
"Thank you, Shippou!" She squealed.  
  
". . .No. . .problem. . ." Shippou choked out, beginning to turn slightly blue.  
  
Miroku knocked some of the tentacles out of the way with his staff while Raylin knocked them out of the way with her bow. Amanda looked around until she found a strong stick and did likewise. This went on for about five more minutes until Shippou suddenly exclaimed, "The sun is out!"  
  
Amanda looked up at the sky and felt her demon powers returning. Her human ears disappeared and turned into cat ears and her fingernails grew back to claws. She threw down the stick and started slashing at the tentacles instead. She frowned when she saw that the tentacles could regenerate. "Hey, Miroku." She called over to Miroku.  
  
Miroku looked over at Amanda. "Oh, I see you got your demon powers back." He said.  
  
"Yeah. Hey, I was wondering: What if we knocked it's head off or something?"  
  
Miroku shook his head. "Like I said, the only way to defeat the puppet in demon puppetry is to is to hit it in the heart."  
  
"But it has no heart!" Amanda said.  
  
"Where its heart would be." Miroku amended.  
  
"Miroku!" A voice called from above. "Need some help?"  
  
Miroku looked up with wide eyes. "Sango. . .!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Hello, Miroku." Sango said as Kirara landed. She hopped off Kirara and dodged a tentacle from the Naraku pinecone.  
  
"Miroku, who's this?" Raylin asked, blinking. Shippou looked up.  
  
"Sango! Kirara!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Hello, Shippou." Sango said.  
  
"Um. . .this little reunion is great and all, but. . ." Amanda said, dodging another tentacle and slashing another one.  
  
"Oh yes, the pinecone. . ." Miroku said, looking back over at Naraku.  
  
"Pinecone?" Sango asked.  
  
"Yes. . Naraku ran out of dolls and decided to use a pinecone. Or at least, that's what we've heard. . ." Miroku said.  
  
Sango nodded slowly. "Alright. . ." she said.  
  
Kouten studied Sango's armor and boomerang for a second, then turned to Shippou and asked, "Is she a demon slayer?"  
  
Shippou nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry. She won't hurt us. She's one of my friends." He replied.  
  
Kouten smiled and said, "Okay, Shippou-chan!"  
  
Shippou sighed.  
  
"Now, time to get rid of this Naraku puppet!" Sango said. She turned to Raylin. "You have a bow and arrow; can you shoot it?"  
  
"Well, um. . .kinda. . ." Raylin admitted.  
  
"It went over his head last time. Could you give me your katana? I'll get it." Amanda said.  
  
Sango nodded and tossed her katana over to Amanda. Amanda lunged at the puppet and stabbed it in the chest. The puppet and its tentacles disappeared in a bunch of dust.  
  
Amanda gave Sango back her sword. "You're Amanda, right?" Sango asked.  
  
Amanda nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?"  
  
"Inuyasha told me who and what everyone new in the group is." Sango replied.  
  
"Inuyasha?! Please. . .you have to tell me if he's alright." Amanda begged.  
  
"He ran after Kisike." Sango replied. Amanda turned away.  
  
"And Bridget?" Amanda whispered. Raylin sighed.  
  
"She left right before you almost died. . ." Miroku said sadly. He thought he saw tears for a second but they were gone before he could be really sure. Amanda pressed her lips together, her claws biting in to her hands as she clenched her fists.  
  
"I'll be back." She whispered. She started slowly walking toward the hot springs. She no longer feared hell wasps and spiderheads because they had disappeared when the fake Naraku had been destroyed.  
  
"Amanda." Shippou whispered and tried to follow her. Miroku laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.  
  
She walked until she reached the edge of the hot springs and then walked in until about waist deep. She faced a large bolder in front of her and she growled in her throat with tears in her eyes. She angrily stared at the stone. 'Why did they leave. . .my friends are splitting up.' She thought. "And it's all Naraku's FAULT!" She shouted as she slammed her fist in to the rock. It shattered beneath the impact. Amanda stood there for a second with tears streaming down her face and her hand slightly pounding but Amanda didn't notice. 'All his fault.' She thought. She stood there for several long minutes.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on*  
  
Amanda: Evil Naraku!  
  
Bridget: *sweatdrops* Yeah. . .but there's more going on than just Naraku's plans. . .  
  
Raylin: Yeah, and compared to what's REALLY going on, Naraku's plans are just a sideshow. . .  
  
Kisike: CONSPIRACY!  
  
Everyone: *sweatdrops*  
  
Amanda: I know that. . .  
  
Bridget: Well, don't give the readers any spoilers. By the way, did you know that you can see Mars in the sky on 27th?  
  
Raylin: Yeah. . .I wonder if that will have any affect on Amanda and Inuyasha's hanyou blood. . .  
  
Amanda: Hope not. . .I think. . .  
  
Kisike: You guys can have Mars. . . I've got Kouga! *huggles Kouga *  
  
Raylin: Big hair-flip man!  
  
Kisike: *sweatdrops* Yeah. . .whatever. . .  
  
Kouga: *sweatdrops as well*  
  
Bridget: Oh, and new Inuyasha episodes starting on the 25th at midnight! Sixteen of them!  
  
Everybody: Yaaay!  
  
Bridget: Well, we gotta go, so please leave your reviews at the sound of the beep.  
  
Kisike: Heheh. . .  
  
*tortured screams sound.then a beep.* 


	26. I'm Going After Them

Author's Note-We don't own Inuyasha. We're still trying to get the Shikon shards. And we definitely don't own Mars. If we did, we wouldn't have had to stand in line for three hours to see it through a telescope and never get to because it got cloudy. -.-; I'm tired. Read and enjoy. I'll gonna get some sleep. . .  
  
Back at camp every one heard someone shout in the direction that Amanda had gone and everyone quickly dashed in that direction. "Amanda are you okay?" Raylin asked. She saw Amanda starting to climb out of the hot springs. She had tears drying on her face but her face was set. Raylin stopped at the water's edge. "Amanda?" She whispered. Amanda walked past her, not glancing left or right.  
  
"I'm going after them." Amanda said. She walked back to camp. Miroku grabbed her shoulders and made her turn around.  
  
"You are still to weak from the spiderheads." Miroku argued. Amanda looked him dead in the eyes.  
  
"I will not lose my friends. . .Kisike said that we abandoned her. . .well I won't do that.not to Inuyasha, Bridget, or any of you." Amanda stated. Her stare seemed to un-nerve Miroku. He gently released her. Sango walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I'll come with you. . .we can ride Kirara." Sango said. Amanda looked at her and nodded.  
  
"Thank you." Amanda whispered. Kirara quickly transformed and the two girls climbed on to its back.  
  
Shippou looked up at them. "How far do you think Inuyasha's gone?" he asked them.  
  
Sango shrugged. "I'm not sure. Both cat and dog demons are known for their speed; they could be miles away by now. But if Bridget's a human, then she couldn't have gone far. That's where they'll be. Where Bridget is."  
  
Amanda's eyes widened. "What?!" she demanded. "Dammit! Is Kisike planning to kill her?!"  
  
Sango looked back at her. "No. Your friend Kisike works for Naraku. Naraku wants Bridget on his side." She replied. "Kisike went to get her and Inuyasha followed."  
  
"If Bridget ran, then she'd be far away too. You see, she's only half human. Her other half is faerie demon." Miroku said.  
  
Sango blinked. "Faerie demons? Those are rare." she said. "They're as fast as dog demons and cat demons, and when in an when in a desperate situation, much faster. They don't really have many natural weapons, but they're able to use nature magic, miko powers, and ki."  
  
"We noticed." Raylin said.  
  
"By the way, what happened to Kagome? I asked Inuyasha and he just said 'she's gone'. Back to her own time or dead?"  
  
"She's. . .kind of dead." Miroku said.  
  
Sango blinked. "Kind of dead? What do you mean 'kind of dead'?"  
  
"She was killed by Sesshoumaru, but now she's somewhat like Kikyo. She's back from the dead, and yet, she has her entire soul and a demon body. Now she wants Inuyasha dead, but it's more than that. She apparently seems to be working for someone, and somehow I have doubts it's Naraku."  
  
"Apparently." Raylin seconded, sighing.  
  
"We had to fight her a little while ago. . ." Amanda said.  
  
Sango looked down guiltily. "I shouldn't have left. . ." she said quietly.  
  
"Sango," Miroku asked, "Why did you leave?"  
  
Sango didn't reply to that one but just kept staring down into Kirara's fur. Shippou, who was sitting on a rain cloud with Kouten, looked up suddenly.  
  
"Oh, by the way," he said, "I've got something to tell you guys."  
  
Everybody looked over at him curiously. "Bridget. . .didn't exactly leave on her own." Shippou said.  
  
Raylin blinked. ". . .Say what?"  
  
"Okay, you guys didn't hear this from me, but. . ." Shippou did a dramatic pause. "It's Inuyasha's fault!"  
  
"Are you talking about that fight between them earlier?" Raylin sighed.  
  
"No, no! Not at all! This was a different fight that went on a while later!" Shippou retorted.  
  
"Impossible. Inuyasha never left Amanda's side." Miroku said. Amanda blushed slightly at this.  
  
"Well he was at least five minutes away with Bridget when I saw him." Shippou said. "Remember when you told me that we needed some more chin- ch'iao-mai (also known as yellow dock) leaves? Well. . .I was picking some and suddenly heard voices. I was behind the bushes and saw Inuyasha yelling at Bridget. He told her that she was too weak and therefore a danger in the group. He also said that she was causing too much tension among us. Then he threatened to kill her if she came back to the group, so she ran off. He saw me and threatened to kill me. Or at least make sure that I could never speak again."  
  
"If only he had done the latter. . ." Raylin sighed.  
  
Shippou and Kouten glared at her. Amanda looked stared at Shippou in disbelief. "Inuyasha. . .? No. . .he wouldn't. . ." she stammered.  
  
"I have to agree with Lady Amanda. Inuyasha would never say a thing like that. After all, Shippou and Lady Kagome were in our group." Miroku replied.  
  
Shippou's eyebrow twitched. "I'm still here, you know. . ." he reminded them.  
  
Miroku ignored him. "Of course, I'm not saying that I'm the strongest in the group. I'll admit that Inuyasha probably is. But he wouldn't send somebody off on their own into a dangerous world that they know nothing about. Lady Bridget was fooled, but the tension between them probably helped fuel the belief that the Inuyasha that spoke to her was not a fraud and the threat was real."  
  
"Inuyasha and Bridget had a fight? The real Inuyasha?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yes. Lady Bridget believed there was a way that both you and Kisike could have been saved, but Inuyasha did not see it. She was very angry about that and they got into a big fight." Miroku said.  
  
"Hm. . .I'm think I'm going to have to have a talk with Inuyasha. . ." Amanda said thoughtfully.  
  
"Anyways," Sango said, "Miroku and Amanda are right. When Inuyasha found out that Kisike was going after Bridget, he took off right away after I told him that I'd go to help you guys."  
  
"They say that one of the best strategies is divide and conquer. . ." Raylin said. Everybody contemplated this silently for a few minutes.  
  
After a long silence, Miroku said, "If that's what's going on, then somebody's after us. I think that it's specifically Lady Kisike, Lady Bridget, Lady Amanda, and Lady Raylin that they're after. But. . .Lady Kisike's working for Naraku. . .and I somehow doubt that somebody hired Naraku. After all, it's he who does the hiring. But all and all, we're all going to have to be careful from now on and stick together." He put a hand on the small of Raylin's back.  
  
Raylin's eye twitched as his hand slid down to her butt. "That's great and all. . .but. . .GET YOUR HAND OFF MY ASS!" she yelled, whacking Miroku on the head.  
  
"He hasn't changed, has he?" Sango sighed, sweatdropping.  
  
"Miroku never gives up. Besides, ever since we met the others, he's had some new victims." Shippou replied.  
  
"Sango. . .if we're ever going to have a chance to catch up to Bridget, Inuyasha, and Kisike. . .then we need to leave now." Amanda said laying a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Sango nodded.  
  
***  
  
The dark figure stared into the pool of water. "The dog hanyou. . .he's persistent." He hissed as he watched him run after Kisike. "At this rate, he'll catch up to the girl. I must not let him interfere. Shido."  
  
Shido bowed behind him. "Yes, Master?"  
  
"Divert Inuyasha. Keep him from catching up to the girl."  
  
"Should I kill him, Sir?"  
  
"I don't care. From what I can see, he's useless."  
  
Shido nodded. "Yes Sir." He disappeared.  
  
"Of course. . .I still have yet to unlock the entire prophecy. . .who knows. . ." the figure continued idly, never taking his eyes off the pool.  
  
***  
  
Inuyasha ran. 'Dammit. At this rate, I'll never catch up to Kisike. . .' he thought. 'This is all my fault. . .Kisike turning evil. . .Bridget leaving. . .'  
  
"Four of us came to this dimension together. Four of us should have left this dimension together." Bridget had said. The words seemed to echo in Inuyasha's mind.  
  
'But why would she just leave like that? She wasn't really that mad, was she?' Inuyasha wondered. 'I mean, I should think that she'd want to stay with the friends she had left! It would be kind of contradicting herself, wouldn't it?'  
  
The shadows suddenly seemed to grow taller as dark clouds passed overhead. A ball of black light floated down from the sky in front of him. Inuyasha skidded to a stop. "What the hell. . .?" he started.  
  
The ball of light materialized into a man with black hair and a black kimono top with a golden design on the sleeves and baggy pants.  
  
"Who are you?!" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"I should ask you the same question. Such a hanyou shouldn't mess with the plans of the all-knowing." Said the man with his eyes closed and a smirk on his face.  
  
"The all-knowing?! Is he the one responsible for all this?!"  
  
"Such information is not needed for the dead. I am Shido, and you will go no further." The man said calmly.  
  
"I don't have the time for you!" Inuyasha yelled, swiping at Shido.  
  
Shido jumped back. "I can play the same game, hanyou!" he said as a black aura surrounded him.  
  
Inuyasha stared as soon as Shido's hair grew long and silver. "What on earth. . ." he said.  
  
Shido's eyes turned amber and then his appearance turned completely into Inuyasha's. "Like I said, I can play the same game. Like this, I can do anything. You're friends won't know the difference as I use this appearance to deceive and kill them!" he said.  
  
Bastard." Inuyasha growled.  
  
Shido didn't move. "Your move." He said with Inuyasha's voice. Inuyasha swiped again at him.  
  
"Iron reaver!" he yelled. Shido jumped back again. Inuyasha took a few more swipes; all which were dodged. Inuyasha stopped but stayed in fighting stance and continued growling. 'He's toying with me. . .' he thought.  
  
"I suggest you draw your sword, hanyou. You're too slow with natural attacks. But then," Shido said grinning, "you can't unleash the Tetsusaiga's full power, can you? You haven't ever since that woman of yours died. Not to mention that you forgot to bring it." The sheath and sword Tetsusaiga appeared in his hand. He held it out to him. "But please, go right on ahead. Use your sword. But I'm telling you now that you cannot defeat me, even with that."  
  
"Shut up!" Inuyasha yelled, snatching the Tetsusaiga away from him and unsheathing it. He swung it at Shido. Shido jumped up and disappeared. Inuyasha blinked. "Where'd he go. . .?"  
  
"Over here!" said a voice beside him. Inuyasha looked over to his side to see Shido standing on the tip of the Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha stared in disbelief.  
  
"No way! How. . ."  
  
"Farewell." Shido said, changing back to his normal form, unsheathing his own katana and running down the sword, ready to slice Inuyasha's head.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine comes on *  
  
Bridget: *yawns*  
  
Amanda: Sleepy?  
  
Bridget: Yeah. High school is tiring. Too many projects and physical activities.  
  
Raylin: Good thing we get the day off.  
  
Kisike: Yep.  
  
Bridget: Yeah. . . *nods off to sleep*  
  
Kisike: . . .Class. . .class. . .WAKE UP!  
  
Amanda: *sweatdrops*  
  
Bridget: *continues sleeping*  
  
Raylin: She sleeps like a rock, doesn't she?  
  
Amanda: Yep. . .  
  
Kouga: *blinks and pokes Bridget with a stick*  
  
Bridget: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
  
Kouga: *sweatdrops*  
  
Kisike: Anyways, review at the sound of the beep! . . .We'll try to wake Bridget up. . .  
  
Bridget: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
  
*Beep sounds with an evil laugh following* 


	27. It's Cold Out

Author's Note-Hi guys. It's good to post again, but we may not again for a while, so be sure to read the note at the bottom. We've gotten quite a few Shikon shards since our last update, but still don't own Inuyasha or. . .anything, really. Except for Tangerine. We own this plot and all original characters. By the way, we have beliefs that Kouga is in Kisike's attic. . . *shrugs * But she's seen it and it's white/gray, 6 ½ feet tall, has a humanoid form, and is nocturnal. So if you have any ideas, we'll give you a cookie. Enjoy the chapter. ^_^  
  
Bridget closed her eyes and leaned against a tree. "Inuyasha was right. . ." she whispered. "I was a danger to the group. I really should have left earlier, even. . ." She opened her eyes as she looked up at the branches and the gray sky. She smiled sadly. "What am I thinking? What was I thinking? I shouldn't have made friends in the first place. I of all people should know what would happen if I befriend. . .anyone. . ."  
  
She sank down to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. "It's cold out. . ." she noted quietly. She stared down at the snow-covered ground.  
  
"Hey, Bridget." A voice said. Bridget's head snapped up to see Kisike standing in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock.  
  
"A ghost. . .?" she muttered.  
  
"I was gonna be one, no thanks to you and the others." Kisike said, glaring down at her.  
  
"I'm sorry. . ." Bridget whispered as she stood up slowly.  
  
"So what happened? The group abandoned you, too?" Kisike asked with a smirk.  
  
"No. . ." Bridget said. "I left them."  
  
"Hn. It's a good think you did. It's nothing but a group of betraying, backstabbing traitors, and you're not that, are you? So come with me."  
  
"To where?"  
  
"To Lord Naraku's castle, the headquarters of Across. Come with me and we can both get revenge on those traitors that call themselves friends." Kisike replied.  
  
Bridget looked away. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I can't. Like I said, I left them."  
  
"But there was a reason, right?"  
  
"Well. . ."  
  
"You need to come anyway. Lord Naraku's orders."  
  
Bridget stared down at the snow. "I'm going to stay alone from now on." she replied.  
  
Kisike sighed. "C'mon!" she said.  
  
"Besides. . .Naraku is an evil demon. And I don't want to work for Naraku."  
  
"Who says you're gonna work or something? It may be nothing. Come on."  
  
"I told you, I can't! I won't!" Bridget argued.  
  
"Fine. Let's have a duel. . .I win, you come to Naraku's with me. If you win. . .well, who knows. . ." Kisike said.  
  
'She knows that I probably can't win against her. She has three Shikon shards, after all. . . Besides. . .' Bridget thought. "I refuse to fight you!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I can't fight a friend." Bridget replied.  
  
"You did back at Gabri's!"  
  
"It was only to help you and my other friends."  
  
Kisike blinked, then suddenly smirked. "I know what this is about. I see how it is. You don't think you can beat me, do you?"  
  
"You do have three Shikon shards. I know I couldn't beat you, even if I tried. But. . .I refuse to even do that."  
  
"Then you'll be an easy opponent." Kisike said, slashing at her. Bridget jumped back.  
  
'It's not like I really have any natural weapons anyway except my fists. . .unless I use magic or ki, my only weapon is speed. . .and a sword. . .but I can't fight Kisike with that without the probability that I could seriously hurt her, and I know this isn't her, or at least the real her. Someone's probably messed with her head or something. . .' Bridget thought, dodging Kisike's slashes. 'Why does she want me to go to Naraku anyways. . .? The others DID say he was evil. . .right?' "So you're working for Naraku? You're evil?" She asked in disbelief.  
  
"Eviler. My evilness has increased. So has my power, and with it, I will kill the group." Kisike corrected. (K/N: Especially since you only dedicated two paragraphs to me when you thought I was dead. . .) (J/N: Oh, shut up. . .) "And with it, I can still kill you. I could always tell Naraku that there was a little accident."  
  
Bridget looked around. 'Think. What can I use that won't end up hurting Kisike?' Bridget wondered. Her eyes rested on a tree. 'That's it. . .' she thought. She grimaced as one of Kisike's swipes met her shoulder, creating three long, deep cuts down it. 'Damn. . . I should really try to pay more attention. . .'  
  
"You should just give up or start fighting. You can't dodge forever, you know." Kisike said.  
  
Bridget jumped back and landed in front of a tree. "You know what?" she said as she rested a hand on the tree.  
  
Kisike stopped temporarily and blinked. "What?"  
  
"You're right." Bridget said. With that she closed her now greenish- yellow eyes flecked with purple, concentrating. She gathered up the magic around her and sent a surge of it into the tree. A faint green glow floated around the tops of the trees, and just like last time, the branches began to grow.  
  
Kisike frowned and looked around. "Not this lame trick again. . .can't you come up with anything else?" she asked boredly, her ki sword forming in her hands.  
  
"Yeah." Bridget said, sending another burst of energy into the tree. Roots sprang up from the ground and wrapped around Kisike's ankles as the trees continued to grow. Kisike slashed at the roots and the branches. "By the time you get out of that mess, I'll be gone. But thank you. . .for letting me know that you were still alive." With that, Bridget took off.  
  
She ran for about twenty minutes, then began to stumble. She had found earlier on that using magic was already weakening enough; but the blood loss and the running added to that was just too tiring. She tripped and fell into blackness.  
  
***  
  
Inuyasha allowed his feet to slip out from underneath him. As he fell, the katana missed him but still cut a few stands of hair in its wake. As Shido sailed over him, Inuyasha slashed at him with the Tetsusaiga, the demon barely missed being cut in two by the giant fang. "Well, well, you appear to have a bit of luck on your side. . ." Shido said casually and smirking as he twirled his katana idly in his hand.  
  
"No, that's called skill." Inuyasha shot back.  
  
Shido stopped twirling the katana and shrugged, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Luck and skill. . .they appear to go hand in hand, don't they?"  
  
"I guess. . ." Inuyasha said. He then narrowed his eyes. "So, who are you exactly? You've given me your name, but I have the strangest belief that you don't work for Naraku. . . Though I have the feeling that you're not a kitsune, yet you're a shapeshifter." He said.  
  
"You are correct. I don't work for Naraku." Shido said. "I work for the All-Knowing. Of course, I suppose you could say that he and Naraku are on the same side. . ."  
  
"Why are you trying to keep me from following Kisike?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Simple. Kisike needs a little bit of time to bring Bridget over to our side. Bridget may not be as strong as some of you in the group are, but if we're right, she's very stubborn. It could take a little while for Kisike to convince her to come over to our side." Shido said.  
  
"You're right about that, I suppose. . ." Inuyasha agreed.  
  
"So good that we could agree on something."  
  
"But what I want to know is this: what makes you think that Bridget would have any desire to become evil?"  
  
"Revenge, perhaps. . . Or maybe she would like to see one of her friends again, seeing as how the others made her leave your group. . .or should I say, saying as how YOU made her leave your group."  
  
Inuyasha glared. "That wasn't me!" he said. He frowned at Shido's small chuckle, then his eyes widened. "It was you, wasn't it. . .? You pretended-"  
  
"Yes. I pretended to be you."  
  
"And she fell for it?!"  
  
"Yes. . .a bit of magic and a shapeshifter such as I can become anything and anybody." Said Shido. Inuyasha watched with horror as Shido's hand began to suddenly melt, then solidifying to become metal. The hand hardened into a shape he had never seen before. It was a small thing. . .and it looked a bit harmless. . .so why was this feel of foreboding beginning to creep into his senses? Shido pulled out a hair and the hair became a metal pellet, which he stuck into the object that was formerly his hand. (K/N: I thought he was gonna turn into a toaster.. )  
  
Shido pointed the hand at him, holding it steady with the other. "It's over, hanyou. This is called a gun. It's faster than you and it will blow the brains literally out of your skull." He said.  
  
"Keh. I have a hard head." Inuyasha said, readying the Tetsusaiga for another attack. Shido was about to pull the trigger to the gun with his left hand when suddenly-  
  
The trees all fell to the ground into a path due to the boomerang swinging through the forest, being easily sliced through, and nearly caught Shido in the back. "What?!" Shido yelled, looking up at the sky. Amanda and Kirara flew down.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Amanda cried.  
  
"Amanda. . ." Inuyasha whispered as Amanda jumped down the last six feet and landed gracefully on her feet. Amanda ran over to him. "Amanda, you should have stayed back. . .you should have stayed with the others. . ." he said.  
  
"Well, I see that you have your little girlfriend to worry about now." Said Shido. A gunshot suddenly rang out through the night and a yell of pain.  
  
Author's Note- *answering machine *  
  
Bridget: Hi, everybody. Sorry we haven't been updating. Fanfiction.net hasn't been letting us, so we may not get the next chapter out soon, so here's the deal: If we don't update in two weeks, if you want us to e-mail the rest of it to you, we will.  
  
Kisike: . . .In the meantime. . .Kouga!  
  
Raylin: . . .What about Kouga?  
  
Kisike: He's mine! ^_^  
  
Raylin: *sweatdrops and sighs*  
  
Amanda: So anyways, consider this as a Halloween gift.  
  
Kisike: Aside from candy.  
  
Bridget: Oh, that's right. Here. *hands all the reviewers a little bag of Halloween candy* Thanks for your support so far.  
  
Raylin: Yeah. . .don't forget to review at the sound of the beep! Bye! *beep sounds* 


	28. I'll Find You I Promise

Author's Note-Well, here's the next chapter for Tangerine. It's later than we had planned it to be, but fanfiction.net doesn't like us and we're lazy (and loaded down with schoolwork. . .slows down Shikon hunting. . .). Anyways, here's the new chapter. And guess what? We still own nothing! So read this and enjoy while we search for shards to own it ourselves.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Amanda screamed.  
  
Inuyasha clutched his right leg.  
  
"I'll be going now. But keep these words in mind, both of you: The mask conceals reality. There's more under the surface than what there seems to be. There is no one left to save. You tell that to Bridget before you die the next time you see her." Shido said, suddenly fading into nothingness.  
  
Sango and Kirara suddenly landed. "Inuyasha, Amanda, are you two okay?" Sango asked.  
  
"Dammit, that stings. . ." Inuyasha said, moving his hands away. There was a deep cut on the side of his leg. "It's a good thing I was able to avoid most of that flying rock thing. . ."  
  
Amanda sweatdropped. "Inuyasha, that was a bullet. Not a rock. Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine. . ." Inuyasha said. He stood up.  
  
"Inuyasha, you're still bleeding. You shouldn't be standing up." Amanda scolded.  
  
"Like I said, I'm fine." Inuyasha replied stubbornly. He leaned against a tree and looked around. "Where are the others?"  
  
"With Miroku. We left them a little ways back from where the others were fighting the spiderheads." Sango replied.  
  
"What?!" Inuyasha asked, startled. He straightened. "We have to hurry back." He said.  
  
Amanda nodded. "Here," Sango said, "You can ride on Kirara."  
  
Inuyasha shook his head stubbornly. "No. I'm hurt, but I'm not completely crippled. I'll just use a stick, thanks. . ." he said.  
  
Amanda sighed and handed him a stick.  
  
"Look. . ." Inuyasha started as they began heading back. "We have a real problem on our hands. That guy's name was Shido, and he's a shapeshifter. He pretended to be me and made Bridget leave."  
  
"Why? What does he want with us?" Amanda asked.  
  
Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't know. But he seemed real intent on keeping me from catching up to Kisike. I think he's in league with Naraku. Kisike wants. . . Kisike wants to try to get Bridget to join Naraku as well. I don't know if she succeeded or not, but my guess is that she probably did." He said.  
  
Amanda looked down at the snowy ground. "So. . ." she asked quietly, "what do we do? I don't. . .I don't want to fight two of my friends. And if worst comes to worst, we'll have to kill them. I can't do that. I know that given the choice, they would probably refuse to become evil, even if someone threatened to kill them. They probably can't help what they've become. It's probably some kind of mind control that Naraku and Shido have. And I can't let them be killed without being free of that once more."  
  
Inuyasha snuck an involuntary glance at Sango. She was keeping her face carefully blank. 'Damn Naraku. . . He controlled Sango's brother, Kohaku, so that Sango had the same problem. He did it to Kikyo and I. Now he's controlling our friends, which makes this harder to fight him for. . .well, everyone.' Inuyasha thought.  
  
Finally, Sango said, "I have to agree with Amanda." Amanda looked over her and blinked. "I don't know Bridget and Kisike, but. . .I have to agree that it's wrong that Naraku's controlling them and making friends turn against friends. We should put a stop to Naraku as soon as possible." Sango continued.  
  
Amanda nodded in agreement. "Thank you. . ." she said. She turned to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, please. Let's go fight Naraku. I want to try to save my friends." She said.  
  
"I agree with you completely and entirely. There's only one problem with that though." Inuyasha said.  
  
Amanda blinked. "What?"  
  
"We don't know where Naraku lives." Sango replied. "After the battle we had against him, he changed location. He probably does this after every battle."  
  
Amanda frowned. "Then. . .we can't fight him?" she asked.  
  
"Not quite." Said a voice behind her. Amanda jumped and whirled around, yelling in the now-present Miroku's face, "Don't do that!"  
  
Miroku took a step back, unnerved, then nodded. "Erm. . .yes. . ." he said, his dramatic entrance spoiled. He looked at the wound on Inuyasha's leg. "Inuyasha, what happened to your leg?" he asked curiously. "Did Kisike do that?"  
  
"Stick to the subject, monk. What were you saying earlier?" Inuyasha asked irritably.  
  
Miroku nodded, doing his one-handed prayer thingy. "Yes." He said. "As I was saying, we can fight him, though I wish I were wrong about what I am about to say. I believe that Naraku wants the four girls, not just Kisike and Bridget. He's going to try to take Lady Amanda and Lady Raylin, also. When he does, we'll be ready."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait!" Inuyasha said. "You're saying we should just let Amanda and Raylin be bait?! No way! I say we keep from them getting them as much as possible! If you want to use someone for bait-"  
  
Miroku held up his hands in defense. "Calm down, Inuyasha. I'm just saying that if Naraku was possibly able to take them, then we would be sure to follow them." He amended.  
  
"Well of course! It's not like we'd just let Naraku kidnap them!" Inuyasha said, not feeling right unless he got the last say in the argument.  
  
"My thoughts exactly. We're going to have to be much more careful." Miroku said, doing his one-handed prayer thingy. "I suggest we get some rest. Nobody slept last night, so we need to get back our strength. But I also recommend we have someone to keep watch."  
  
"I'll do it." Sango volunteered.  
  
Miroku nodded. "Alright. I suggest we set up camp."  
  
"But the problem is that we don't have any food or water or supplies left since the Spiderheads took it all." Shippou said.  
  
"Up the river without a paddle. . ." Amanda muttered.  
  
"I'll get some food. I'll be back in a little bit. The rest of you get whatever you can of a camp set up and get some rest." Inuyasha said, turning around.  
  
"Inuyasha," Amanda said, "I'll go with you. You're hurt."  
  
Inuyasha's grip tightened slightly on the walking stick with worry. Not only that, but. . .he felt like he wanted to get away from everybody for a while to do some thinking. But, knowing that he couldn't talk Amanda out of it if he tried, he sighed. "Fine. Come along, then." He said as he started off.  
  
Amanda followed quietly. After about two minutes of walking, she finally spoke up. "Inuyasha, I think we need to talk."  
  
Inuyasha tensed up slightly, knowing from experience that those were some of the worst words a person could hear. "What?" he asked a bit stiffly.  
  
"What happened last night?" Amanda asked. Inuyasha stopped for a second and was getting ready to walk again when Amanda suddenly grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Please tell me." She said.  
  
Inuyasha looked away, then sat down on a log and told her the whole story-the rescue-mission that Bridget, Raylin, and Kisike had done, the capture of Kisike, and the argument that soon followed between himself and Bridget. Amanda listened to this all quietly, but continued to be silent when he had finished.  
  
Finally, she said, "This is all my fault."  
  
Inuyasha was startled by this. He was sure that she was going to start blaming him when he was done. After all, it was his fault. . .so why was Amanda saying that it was hers? "How can you say that?" he asked.  
  
"Inuyasha. . . I'm sure that Bridget, Kisike, or Raylin would have seen, heard, or smelled the Spiderhead that tried to bite you. Being demons, they would have been fast enough to save you, to push you out of the way without getting themselves injured instead. But I just had to save you myself. . . I wasn't sure at the time if anybody even noticed-I wasn't thinking clearly back there." Amanda said.  
  
"Amanda, I'm grateful that you saved my life. What happened was unavoidable. Even if you hadn't gotten hurt, the others go out for medicine, and fights breaking out in the group didn't happen, somebody would still be after you." Inuyasha said.  
  
"But they wouldn't have left the group willingly, would they? They think now that we hate them. . ." Amanda said, her eyes beginning to water with tears.  
  
"Amanda. . ." Inuyasha whispered, embracing Amanda into a hug. Amanda began to cry.  
  
"It wasn't supposed to end up this way. We were supposed to go home. . .to go back to our everyday lives. . . This isn't our world. We can't survive here. It's not our dimension; it's not even our time." She said, her voice hitching.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll save them. And you and your friends will return home. . ." Inuyasha said. He felt a burst of sadness in his heart as he said that. Amanda was going home. She would leave him, just like every other girl that he liked. 'At least she'll still be alive. . .' he thought.  
  
His ears suddenly twitched. His head shot up. "What was tha-" he started. There was a twang and an arrow suddenly flew between him and Amanda and broke them apart. They both hit the ground and sat up, looking at the woman dressed in black priestess robes. Kagome. "Ka-Kagome. . ." Inuyasha stammered as he grabbed his walking stick.  
  
"Hello, Inuyasha." Kagome said curtly. She decided to get right down to business. "I hate to break up your little sappy moment, but I've come for her." She said, jerking her head towards Amanda.  
  
Amanda stood up as Inuyasha moved to stand in front of her. "Kagome, please. Don't do this." Inuyasha said.  
  
"I have to. My master made a deal with Naraku; I have to do this!" Kagome said. "Besides, if I can give this girl to Naraku, I'll be free. I'm alive again, but I have to pay off my debt, then I'll be truly alive and free." She looked over at Amanda, then back at Inuyasha sadly. "Or are you just going to discard me again, like when you were with Kikyo?"  
  
"Kagome. . .I didn't discard you-" Inuyasha started.  
  
"Don't even deny it, you big liar!" Kagome yelled. "You couldn't even look me in the eye after you saw her! She tried to drag you into hell with her time and time again and yet you still loved her and would forget me whenever you saw her!"  
  
Inuyasha looked hurt. His face held the expression of a kicked puppy. Amanda had never seen Inuyasha like that before. Inuyasha seemed to struggle with himself for a few moments. Finally, Inuyasha turned to Amanda and put his hands on her shoulders. With a sinking heart, Amanda knew what was coming.  
  
"Amanda, listen-"  
  
"No." Amanda interrupted. "I know what you're about to say. But it's apparent that you care more about Kagome than you care about me. That's understandable; you knew her much longer than me. What I don't understand though is why you want her back. She tried to kill you, our friends, and me. If you get back together with her, she won't love you. She'll only want to kill you."  
  
"Get used to it. It was the same thing with Kikyo." Kagome said.  
  
"But," Amanda said, narrowing her eyes at Kagome but still talking to Inuyasha, "despite the fact that you're willing to give me up to her, I am not going to go with her gracefully."  
  
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her. "No." he whispered in her ear. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I want you to run away. Don't come back. I'll find you by tracking your scent."  
  
"How will I be sure you'll come back for me?" Amanda whispered back, blinking back tears.  
  
"You can trust me. I'll find you. I promise." Inuyasha promised. "Now go. . .and be careful. . ."  
  
Amanda hesitated, nodded, then took off through the forest. Behind her, she could here Kagome and Inuyasha yelling, then several 'sits'. She stopped for a moment, looking behind her.  
  
"Thought you could escape?" Said a voice behind her. She turned to see Shido. "Too bad your beloved Inuyasha isn't here to save you now." Shido said, grabbing her arms and twisting them behind her back. They both vanished.  
  
Author's Note-*answering machine comes on*  
  
Kisike: You're lazy.  
  
Bridget: . . .I have too much school work. Plus, I'm working on The Past. . .not only that, I have several comics to work on as well.  
  
Kisike: . . .  
  
Bridget: . . .  
  
Kisike: . . .You're lazy.  
  
Bridget: Argh!  
  
Amanda: Now, now, you two. Stop fighting.  
  
Bridget: Hmph.  
  
Kisike: Hmph.  
  
Raylin: Um. . . *sweatdrops at Bridget and Kisike as they fight about laziness and other delaying factors of posting while Amanda tries to break up the argument* I guess that leaves me to tell you guys to review at the beep and that hopefully we'll have a new chapter out soon. *beep sounds* 


	29. Okay, This is Ridiculous

Author's Note-Ha! We are still updating! Even though it took us...like...a year... -sweatdrops- Is anyone still reading this...? Well, anyways, I was reading over this a couple of nights ago and thought, 'We're coming close to the ending. We should at least try to finish this.' So I called up my friend Amanda and she agreed with me and now we just have to ask Kisike... -nodnod- So hopefully we'll pick this back up and finish it at the very least, even though it might be a bit slow at first! Oh, and we still don't own Inuyasha yet!  
  
Miroku walked up to Raylin. "Raylin, Inuyasha and Amanda isn't back yet, so do you think you could watch Kirara, Kouten, and Shippou for me? I need to talk to Sango about something." He said.  
  
Raylin paused, then looked at the ground. "She your ex-girlfriend or something?" she asked in a flat tone.  
  
Miroku blinked, then said, "Erm...no...she was a good friend of mine that left for quite a long time."  
  
"Go on ahead." Raylin replied, continuing not to look up at him.  
  
"Are you going to be alright?" Miroku asked, concerned.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Go on ahead. I'll be fine." Raylin replied.  
  
"Alright..." Miroku said, only half convinced as he walked over to Sango. "Sango?" he asked.  
  
"Hm?" Sango asked, looking over at him.  
  
"Would you like to come on a walk with me?"  
  
"Sure, why not..." Sango replied. She and Miroku began walking from the clearing.  
  
"Sango, I've been wondering...why didn't you stay with us? We said it was all right, even Inuyasha agreed. Yet you still left." Miroku asked.  
  
"Miroku..." Sango said. She looked down at the ground as she walked. "Things were getting too dangerous. I wanted to believe that it would be all right if I went with you and the others, but after finding out that Naraku has Kohaku...I couldn't stay. I knew that so long as Naraku had my brother, he could get me to betray you all like I nearly did last time." She replied. "I left to find Naraku or Kohaku or both."  
  
"But Sango, what is it that you were planning on doing when you found Naraku? You can't defeat him alone-"  
  
"I know that." Sango said. "But...like I said, it wasn't just to save Kohaku...it was to protect you...and the others...from me..." Sango said. "I'm sorry that I left. I know now that I shouldn't have, but it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time... I came back, eventually, but by that time, you and the others were gone."  
  
"You must have been far away at the time. We went looking for you, but you were nowhere to be found." Miroku said. "I'm not blaming you or anything...I just wanted to know why..."  
  
"It's alright. I don't blame you." Sango said. There was silence for a few moments.  
  
"So what are you going to do now?" Miroku asked.  
  
"I...don't know..." Sango said. "I've found you all again. I may stay with you and the others. But I may continue looking for Kohaku and Naraku."  
  
"I see." Miroku said quietly. "Well I hope that you'll choose to stay with us."  
  
Sango was quiet for a while. Then she said, "So, who are those girls exactly?"  
  
"They came from another dimension. We found them one morning and we decided to help them get back home." Miroku replied. "There was four girls in the group, but as you could see, now there's only two. Kisike turned evil-as you could see-and Bridget-a miko-was scared off by a shapeshifter in the form of Inuyasha."  
  
"Well then, I hope that the others will be-"  
  
Sango was interrupted by a cry.

-----Raylin stumbled back as the feather landed in front of her. She glared. "Hey!" She exclaimed. A woman stepped off of the feather. "...And just who the heck are you?"  
  
"Oh no! It's Kagura!" Shippou squeaked.  
  
The woman flicked open a fan in front of her face as she smirked. "The kitsune brat is right. My name is Kagura, the wind sorceress." She replied.  
  
"....." There was a long silence, then Raylin said, "...Go on..." At Kagura's slight frown, Raylin continued, "What? You don't expect that I've actually heard of you or something..." She turned to Shippou and Kouten and Kirara. "You guys go get the others." She whispered to them.  
  
"But Raylin, what will you do?" Shippou asked.  
  
"I'll fight her off." Raylin said. She smirked. "Don't worry, I can. I'll be fine."  
  
"But Kagura is one of Naraku's more stronger of minions!" Shippou said. "She's a wind demon!"  
  
"A wind demon? Oh great. That means the she can knock my arrows off course." Raylin sighed. The chibis -.-;'ed up at her. Raylin blinked for a moment. "What?" she asked.  
  
"Like you had a course to begin with..." Kouten muttered.  
  
Raylin glared down at them. "Shut up. Just hurry up and go get the others so that I don't have to fight this woman for very long. Because unless you've got a machine gun hidden somewhere in that tail of yours, I don't think that you two are going to help any. Just take Kirara for speed." She ordered.  
  
Shippou and Kouten hesitated, then nodded. "C'mon, Kouten..." Shippou said, taking her by the hand as Kirara went into demon form. They hopped on and flew off. Raylin turned back to Kagura.  
  
"Sorry about that. Now, what were you saying?"  
  
Kagura sweatdropped, he dramatic entrance if any now ruined. "I'm here to take you to Naraku." she said a bit flatly.  
  
"...Oh...that explains things a whole lot better. That's who Kisike is working for, right? Or was it that Lord Ilpallazo guy...?"  
  
"...It's Naraku. Understand now?" Kagura asked.  
  
Raylin sighed. "Yeah..." She said as she took out her bow and arrow. Kagura only maintained her grin at this and made no move to do nothing. Raylin raised her eyebrows at this. "What? No weapons? No attacks?"  
  
"Just shoot the arrow." Kagura said impatiently, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh, well I don't know, now. Never fire when the enemy tells you to. Because then the enemy is going to do something with the attack or the weapon. It's true. Every time." Raylin said, lowering her bow and arrow.  
  
Kagura smirked. "How very perceptive of you. But now what are you going to do?" she asked, advancing on her.  
  
"I'm going to run...and yell...and hopefully someone like Inuyasha or Miroku will hear me!" Raylin shot back.  
  
"Not a chance!" Kagura said, sweeping her fan to the side, creating a giant wind. The wind picked Raylin up off her feet and threw her off to the side, into a tree.  
  
"Miroku!" Raylin yelled. Her head hit the tree, and she was knocked unconscious.  
  
-at Naraku's castle-  
  
"Damn it! Let me go!" Amanda demanded. Shido chuckled and kept a firm hold on her arms. He led her through the castle until they came upon a room. Inside was Naraku sitting in the corner with a demon puppet in front of him. "I presume that you are that bakayaru Naraku." Amanda hissed as she bared her teeth and flattened her ears against her head. "Let me go or you will surely regret it."  
  
"I don't believe that you are in a position to be ordering me around." Naraku said smoothly. Amanda growled lightly in her throat. "You know that Inuyasha still loves Kagome and Kikyo...he will turn you away to get one of them back..."  
  
"I have learned from past experiences...to never trust a man who wears blue eye shadow and a baboon suit." Amanda interrupted. "And it's obvious that you fit description, so you might as well hold your breath because I'm not having anything to do with you."  
  
"Shut up, wench." Shido said, hitting the back of her knees, causing her to hit the floor so that she was in a bowing-type style.  
  
"Shido, you have brought me two out of four of the girls as promised. But this isn't the second girl that you said you would bring. Why?" Naraku asked.  
  
"..." Shido frowned and looked away. "She...got away. Her heart isn't as weak as I thought it would be." He said. "...It's just like...hers..." he muttered to himself.  
  
"Shido. You are temporarily in my service for now. Kagura is getting the raven-haired girl, Raylin. As for the redhead, find out where she is and bring her to me."  
  
Shido bowed a low bow. "I will do just that, Naraku. I always fulfill my employer's command." He said.  
  
Naraku chuckled. "I have complete faith in you that you do, Shido. Take her back to a cell and find the fourth girl."  
  
"Yes, Naraku-sama." Shido said, nodding. He grabbed Amanda's arm and dragged her off as she went kicking and screaming the entire way to the cell.  
  
Naraku looked over to see Kagura land on the porch, her feather minimizing. Kagura walked inside, carrying an unconscious Raylin. "Naraku, I have brought the girl that you seek." She said. "She was quite an annoying one, too. I don't see the importance of her."  
  
"She is very important. Just as Kisike and Amanda are now. Take her back to the cell." Naraku said. Kagura nodded and carried Raylin off to the cell where Amanda now stayed.

-Two days later-

Bridget sat up and looked around. Woozy...why did she feel woozy? She didn't even use the word 'woozy', but that wasn't the point. Not to mention that her head hurt like hell. And her shoulder hurt. ...Basically, she just ached all over...  
  
She groaned. "Okay...this isn't good. First thing's first. Where am I?" She looked around again. Blurs. All blurs. She put a hand to her waist. Nothing. Her eyes widened. "And where the hell is my sword and glasses?!" she demanded a bit louder. She looked beside her and saw a folded up kimono with her glasses lying on top. She put them on and looked around again, her vision much, much clearer now. "Well, that's one problem solved..." she commented.  
  
She spotted her sword leaning against the wall in the corner. "...And there's another one. Solved once again. And now I think I'm going to lay down because my head feels like a pile of bricks just got dropped on it." She laid back down for a few minutes, just staring up at the wooden ceiling. "......So...now what...?" she wondered. She frowned.  
  
"How did I even get here? Oh, this had better not be like one of those animes where some weird vampire guy saves the girl and expects her to fall in love with him..." She groaned. She studied her hand, then came to the conclusion that it wasn't deathly pale. "Well, I'm not a vampire...huh..." she commented. "Well, you know, if worst comes to worst, then Kisike probably found me and took me to Naraku's. And then that would be pretty bad..." she said. She frowned slightly. "Kisike..." she said softly, thoughtfully.  
  
She never saw this twist in plot coming: Kisike working for Naraku. This was like a story, like one of hers or one of her friends' fanfics that they would write. She really should have seen it earlier-Kisike was always the one to turn evil. _Hm...well, that can't be good. If we're going by the rules of our fanfics, then I should either get seriously wounded or even die...or at least nearly die. Great..._ She thought.  
  
Bridget sighed, then blinked. "Does this count?" she wondered. She looked down and studied herself for a couple of moments. "Hm...I think just my shoulder took the most damage...and I think I might be sick... Meh...I don't think that counts." She said.  
  
Her outfit was a bit torn and her thick hair was tangled, but at least she was indoors. And warm. That was a bit puzzling, though a bit relieving. "Well, at least I have my sword here with me...not that it's really going to do all that much good with this wounded shoulder." She sighed and sweatdropped. She had realized that it was too quiet. She hated total and complete silence-the reason why she rarely ever parted with her headphones back in her world.  
  
"Okay, now I'm just talking to myself. This is ridiculous. No other choice..." She sat up again and tried to stand but dropped down to one knee. She felt as weak as a newborn kitten-no energy in any of her joints or limbs at all. "Okay, now this is _really_ ridiculous. And kind of stupid. C'mon, I'm a martial artist. I should be able to handle a little walk out of the room and around the house." She said to herself, frowning.  
  
_No school to skip here..._ she thought a bit randomly. Not that she ever skipped school. But she was pretty sure this would be a good reason not to go if she were back in her world.  
  
With her frustration she was able to stand up and walk stumble over to the wall and lean on that. She stumbled on out the door, one hand balancing her against the wall as she did. She made her way down the hallway and heard something that she had least expected to hear: a child's laughter. She looked up. "What the...?" she muttered. She sweatdropped. "Well, I don't think I'm at Naraku's..." she muttered.  
  
She opened the door and her eyes widened. A little girl was playing with some kind of a toad demon, though they both looked over at her when the door opened. And watching them was...  
  
"Sesshoumaru..." she said.  
  
"You're awake."  
  
"Y-Yeah..." she said quietly as she gripped the doorframe to keep her knees from giving way. She already was losing strength, fast, and with the shock adding to her weariness, she could barely stand.  
  
Sesshoumaru stood up and walked over to her, placing his hand on her forehead. Bridget blinked. "You still have a fever." He said, taking his hand away. "You should go back to sleep."  
  
Bridget decided to ignore that. "I assume this is where you live...?" she said.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How long have I been here?"  
  
"About two days."  
  
Bridget nodded and lost her grip on the doorframe, collapsing to her knees. "I suggest you get some rest." Sesshoumaru said.  
  
"That may help..." Bridget said softly. She pulled whatever reserves of strength she had left and stood up, walking slowly back to her room. She walked in, shut the door, and collapsed on her futon. She fell asleep immediately.  
  
Author's Note- -Answering machine comes on-  
  
Bridget: Hey! We're back!  
  
Raylin: Yes we are... Wait. We are?  
  
Amanda: Yep! Back and hopefully ready to write!  
  
Raylin: ...Oh god...  
  
Bridget: Yeah...just wait till we tell Kisike when she gets back from vacation!  
  
Raylin: Well, the fanfic is going to be updated and written to again. Should I feel happy or scared? Oh well. Read and review at the sound of the beep! –beep sounds- 


End file.
